Disclaimer: Joss, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Mutant
Enemy, Inc., Greenwolf Corp, Kazui Enterprises, and Sandollar
Television own the characters. i.e. everyone except me, so don't
bother suing!
Spoilers: General BtVS and AtS.
Author's Notes: C/A, specifically for the pleasure of Gareth and Sham. Sorry
it took so long. Thank you to Ricky for being as much as a perv as
me. And for Phil, without whose ideas and editing this fic wouldn't
have been half of what it is now...Enjoy!!!
Feedback: It is always appreciated, including that which is posted to
lists.

Maybe it was something to do with the earthquake, maybe it was
something to do with destiny and the Fates. Faith didn't really care.
All she knew was that it was making her life a hell of a lot harder.
And that was something she could really do without. She had been at
work when she had seen the report on the TV in the lounge, and saw
the signs of trouble that were definitely of the supernatural kind.
Waiting until she could slip away, she called Angel. He was pacing
angrily as he picked up the phone and yelled "What?" into the
receiver. Not exactly the type of welcome that the hopeless wanted to
hear when they called, thought Faith dryly. She looked out at the
bright sunshine and realised he was filled with the same desperation
she was, only at least she could at least walk out and do something
before sundown.

"Hey Angel, it's me."

"Faith. Erm...sorry. I take it you've heard the reports as well.
No-one else is here, so I'm stuck."

"Look, I finish here in about half an hour, you want me to swing by
your place and pick you up?"

"That would be good. I'll start getting all the things ready here. Do
you have any of your own weapons with you, or do you want me to pack
some?"

"I've got some in the trunk of my car, but if the news broadcast is
anything to go on, then I think backup would be good."

"Ok."

"Later." Faith hung up the receiver and looked at the kids that were
left in the main room. Anne would be coming to take over soon. One of
them looked up at her and smiled. She felt a tug at her heart which
was becoming frighteningly familiar these days. These kids had enough
pain in their lives, it was the least she could do to protect them
from the uber-evil that threatened to come crashing into the world at
any point. She walked back into the office and tried to concentrate
on some of the paperwork that Anne usually did.

Faith didn't usually get involved with that side of the shelter, but
today she needed something to take her mind off the fact something
bad was on its way. There were too many other things that had
coincided with that earth movement, she felt certain it couldn't be
natural forces alone. Something was brewing, and the effects of the
disaster told her that it was much bigger than anything she had seen
for a long time.

She let her mind drift as she ticked various boxes on a form, her
hand acting on autopilot. She had no leads, other than the idea of
starting at the so-called earthquake's epicentre. If some demon had
broken through its earth bound prison, then that would make it the
logical place to start. She just hoped that they would not be too
late. Whatever it was would have at least a five hour head start on
them, and when it came to all things magic and dark, five hours was
one hell of a long time.

Faith looked up as Anne walked in the room, ready to take over. "Hey."

"Hey. Not like you to be doing that stuff." She pointed at the papers
Faith had managed to get everywhere. "What's the matter?" she added
as Faith leapt up from the desk.

"Bad news," she said in a whisper, so the group of kids that were
nearest the door would not hear. "Looks like there is another big bad
about to hit L.A. I want you to make sure that you stick to curfew
tonight ok? Make sure everything is locked up nice and tight. I don't
know what's going on, but I don't want you to take any risks ok? Keep
an eye out for anything unusual, and look out for them as well,"
Faith flicked her head in the direction of the lounge.

"Ok, no problem," Anne nodded. She was used to Faith having to run
off to fight monsters and demons, but it was unusual for her to get
so worked up about it. If Faith thought that it was serious, then
Anne was going to treat it as such. Satisfied with Anne's
reassurance, Faith threw her bag over her shoulder, fishing out the
keys to her car from the side pocket as she did so. She checked her
watch. She had just enough time to get to Angel's, change into
something a little more practical for demon hunting, and formulate a
plan before the sun went down.

*****

Faith and Angel walked as quietly as they could towards the disused
warehouse. Their senses were alert to anything out of the ordinary,
for any sign of mass vampire activity. They were also wondering where
the hell their backup was. Cordelia always called by the office, no
matter what assignment she had been on throughout the day, and could
usually be relied on to assemble the rest of the team together
quickly. Despite the fact that Angel had been paging her all day, she
had yet to reply to any of them by the time they had left. It had
finally become impossible to leave it any longer. Through one of the
tiny vent windows at the top of the wall, they could both see a faint
light, telling them that they were in the right place at least. There
was no other reason why anyone would be this far out of town. If this
was a vamp get together, then Faith and Angel were ready for them,
and for the guard that would inevitably be waiting on the door. That
was assuming there were vampires inside of course. Both of them were
aware that there may be something much worse, but they were going to
have to wait until they got inside to find out. Backs flat against
the wall, they edged their way to the corner, uncertain as to where
the entrance would be. The building had clearly been deserted for
some years now, and the main doors were all boarded up. That threw
the original 'burst in and ambush' plan straight out the window.
Faith led the way, Angel glancing behind them, making sure that
nothing followed them around.

Approaching a corner, she heard a slight scuffle, the sound of feet
on loose stones, quiet enough that anyone else probably would not
have heard it. She guessed that the vamp who was standing there was
close, right around the corner, which meant there was a good chance
that she could get the stake in without a big fight, and avoid
alerting the others inside to the fact that they were here. She
turned to Angel, and placed a finger against her lips, and he nodded,
ready to leap in behind her should she need it.

Adrenalin coursing through her, she braced herself and pounced around
the corner, grabbed the vamp by the shoulder and thrust her stake
forward. She was disconcerted by its quick response as she felt its
hand on her shoulder, movements just as quick as hers, and the stake
plunging towards her. Both stopped just in time, and the two girls
were facing each other, stakes almost touching the material of their
clothes. The adrenalin that had shot through her then drew back out
just as quickly, leaving her feeling sick inside. Buffy. For what
seemed like an eternity, they just faced each other, neither knowing
what to say and both knowing that they had nearly staked the other.
Finally, Buffy loosened her grip on Faith's shoulder.

"Faith! What are you doing here?" she hissed, clearly pissed off and
angry to see the other slayer.

"What do you think, B? Same thing as you. Oh, and I live here. Now,
do you want to get this done or just chat the night away?" Faith
wondered where that had come from, that spark of aggression and
confidence that she had been keeping in check for the past ten years.
But then again, she hadn't seen Buffy in the last ten years either.
There was something about the girl that brought out the fire in her;
she had known that from the first moment that they had met. Part of
her hoped that Buffy would return the banter, like they had been able
to when they had first met, before she had...

Faith allowed her thoughts to trail off in her head, knowing that was
a train of thought that always led to the same thing, and this was
neither the time nor the place to go there. They had a job to do, and
Buffy was just the backup they needed. They could go in and slay,
then go their separate ways again. That way they would avoid the big
fight that would always happen if they talked afterwards. Buffy still
hated her with a passion, she could see by the look in those green
eyes. They were not the eyes of indifference, the eyes of a stranger.
No, they were the eyes that still had the fire in them, and Faith did
not want to be in the position where she provoked Buffy to want to
finish the job that she had started all those years ago. They were
still staring at each other, and Buffy nodded, finally letting go of
her shoulder and lowering the stake. Faith mirrored her actions.

"How do we get in?" Angel asked, breaking the tension between the two
girls. "There's nothing back that way."

"Nothing this way either." Buffy sighed, realising that this was
going to be even harder than she had anticipated. The only other
options were the roof or tunnels, and of the two, Buffy preferred the
first. If it came to the tunnels then they would be stuck, as the
entrance could be anywhere, and they had no place they knew for
certain that they could start looking. Angel glanced around, trying
to find some indication, and spotted a skip pushed against a
drainpipe along the opposite end of the wall where he and Faith had
come around. It would be easy enough for vampires to climb, and
certainly not a problem for two slayers. It worried him slightly. If
the vampires in there were climbing onto the roof rather than simply
tearing the boards off the doors, then they must be cautious about
their discovery. Which meant that this was more than a lodge meeting.
Buffy and Faith followed the line of his eyes, and saw what he was
getting at. Buffy nodded and they made their way back along the wall.
Faith was acutely aware of the blond behind her, stepping in time
with her own feet. The climb to the roof was an easy one, and sure
enough, the emergency access panel was open. Vampires just never
seemed to learn the lessons of their fore-sires, the roof was empty,
not a single vamp placed on guard. Angel was relieved that there was
a least one weakness which improved their chances. The three of them
peered into the dimly lit room below them, filled with left over
industrial machinery and waste, and a circle of vampires, their faces
flickeringly lit by the small fire that was in the centre of the
circle. Fragments of Latin drifted up, voices rising as the
incantation progressed. Gone were the street clothes of those in the
circle, and had been replaced by robes.

"This cannot be good," whispered Buffy.

"We need to move now. Do you think we can handle this many?" Angel
replied, desperately realising that even if Cordy and the gang turned
up now, they would be too late to do anything.

"Six against one," muttered Faith, her own voice from the past
echoing in her head. She felt Buffy tense at her side and then look
across at her and Angel.

"Yeah, we can manage that," she smiled, a look in her eyes that Faith
was unable to place.

"One, two, three," Angel counted them in, and they plunged into the
room, taking out a vamp each as they landed.

The fight was fast and furious, each taking whatever was thrown at
them, unable to work as a team because of the sheer numbers, it was
a 'kill or be killed' situation. Buffy moved with fluid movements,
practical, moving from one kill to the next, always watching her
back. Angel tried to take on the bigger and stronger of the vamps
where he could, ending up fighting more than simply staking. Faith
was pulling all the moves she could, refusing to surrender to that
tunnel vision that was threatening to engulf her. The voice in her
mind reminding her that this was her job, not something personal. The
numbers of vamps were getting less, but the number of bruises and
cuts on their bodies were increasing. Angel had been a little too
close for comfort several times. When his face vamped out, it made
easy for the others to know exactly how to hurt him.

Buffy had somehow got into a fist-fight with the one who she assumed
was the leader of the group. In each hand he held an axe, more
primitive than any weapon Buffy had seen a vampire fight with before,
and she realised that they must have held some kind of ceremonial
purpose rather than as a form of defence. She knocked them easily
from his hands, landing a series of punches in his abdomen. She
reached for another stake from the pocket of her jacket.

"Slayer. You are already too late. You can kill us all now. But there
are many more of us. We will keep coming. Cirus will have his
victory."

"Good for him. Still bad for you though." She plunged the stake in
easily, committing his comments to memory in case they would come in
useful later. Over the years, she had yet to meet a bad guy who
didn't have to confess to something just before you killed them. She
guessed it was some way of having the last victory, imparting words
of wisdom and doom before they were sent off to hell. A kick in the
base of her spine sent her to the floor, sprawling into a commando
roll that was less than successful as her wrist bent backwards the
moment it connected with the floor.

Faith plunged the stake deep inside the heart of the vampire in front
of her, just as his hands were about to close around her neck and he
flinched inwards, turning to dust and dropping to the floor. As her
vision became clear, she could see legs sticking out of an industrial
bin, and the body that was being held down by a vampire was thrashing
around weakly. Faith felt her knees buckle as the flashbacks hit her,
time seeming to freeze again in that moment when she had first been
here, and watched Buffy appear to drown, unable to break away, unable
to help her, pull her out of the water and hold her close. She could
hear her own voice screaming "Buffy!" and she wasn't sure whether it
was the memory in her head or the echoing in the room. And then her
feet were moving, pounding the concrete under her, slow motion
seconds as she moved towards Buffy, mind faltering but body strong
and determined. And then fist connected with face, even as her other
hand was reaching into the bin and grabbing frantically for the neck
of the jacket in the water. As the vampire's back hit the floor,
Faith felt her hand clasp around leather and she pulled, the weight
of body forcing against water and then blond hair breaking the
surface, mouth opening to gasp in much needed air, and then both
bodies were collapsing. Faith realised that Buffy was breathing and
then a searing pain at the back of her head. Everything went black.

*****

"Faith. Faith!" she could recognise Buffy's voice becoming
increasingly desperate as the world began to swim slowly back into
view. There were strong arms holding her, and she wanted to sink back
into Angel's embrace and forget about the pain that was pounding its
way through her skull. Then the sense of relief washed through her
that they were all ok, they had made it. This was rapidly followed by
the sense of fear when she realised that she could no longer high
tail it out of there without having to talk to Buffy. She opened her
eyes, and was instantly looking into green ones that were filled with
as much apprehension as she felt.

"Are you ok?" Faith looked at the cuts and bruises of her fellow
slayer, and the murky water marks that were streaking her face.

"Hey, you know me. I'm the slayer they all love to drown. But yes,
I'm okay. They weren't going to get me this time. Thank you." The
last part seemed as if Buffy had to force it from somewhere deep
within her, but at least she had managed to get the words out. She
extended her hand to Faith, who allowed herself to be pulled up,
aided by a push from Angel. Once she was standing, she took a good
look around. Angel was bleeding pretty badly, and somewhere along the
line, she had managed to get her arm cut up enough for it to bleed
all over her tank top, staining the light blue into dark claret. And
somehow Buffy was bruised and beaten and soaked yet still looked as
enigmatic as the first moment that Faith had looked at her. She
resisted the urge to reach out and tuck a damp blond strand behind
Buffy's ear. It was something that she would have done for Cordy or
Anne, but not Buffy. She was pretty sure that the road to redemption
did not lie along that path. The grudging truce that was lying
between them now was something that could be broken more easily than
it was made.

*****

They got back to the office to find that Cordy was nowhere to be
seen, and the note that Angel had left for her was in the same place.
While he checked the answer phone, Buffy and Faith were left in an
awkward silence. A shiver racked its way through Buffy's body, the
cold clothes sticking to her skin.

"Sit down," Faith's voice came out as more of an order than it was
originally intended, but Buffy complied. Spotting a green shawl that
had to be Cordelia's on the back on a chair, Faith grabbed it and
draped it around Buffy's shoulders. Buffy smiled in thanks, and Faith
simply nodded. After all, it was the kind of smile that said 'thanks,
but I still haven't forgiven you'. Her lips had moved but the feeling
had not reached her eyes. The silence stretched out between them,
each trying to think of something to say that would not lead to
anything confrontational, until Cordy burst through the door, Lorne
in tow. What initially appeared to be a dramatic, hero-to-the-rescue
style entrance soon disintegrated into a fit of giggles and a
refreshing whiff of alcohol. Buffy responded to the scene with a
raised eyebrow, while Faith just smirked at the pair. Angel's face
was grim and threatened to break the good mood that had suddenly made
its way into the room. Faith put a calming hand on his crossed arms,
like he had done to her over the years so many times. There was no
point in trying to reprimand them now, it would be like telling off a
group of schoolchildren. Faith also noticed that Buffy's response to
Lorne's presence was less than welcoming, she knew the look in those
eyes from all the times they had been directed towards her. Boy, for
someone who was so shiny bright, the girl sure knew how to hold a
grudge. Angel had told her about the time Buffy had come to L.A. and
Lorne had been very insightful about her personality. In the way only
he could, and Buffy had failed to take it in good humour apparently.
Sometimes there was just no way to get through that thick skull of
hers that she might be wrong about something. Maybe being this
stubborn was a Slayer trait, and that was why they had always ended
up battling against each other even when they were on the same side.

*****

Faith walked into the kitchen, in desperate need for a cup of coffee
to get her going.

"Oh, it's you," came a voice from by the fridge.

"Good morning to you too," replied Faith sarcastically, as she pushed
past the blonde to get to the coffee machine. Confrontation was the
last thing that she needed this morning. She was still a little sore
from the fight the night before, and a gash in her shoulder had meant
that she had spent a restless night in bed. To top it off, she knew
that she had a difficult day at work to look forward to, and all she
could do was hope that Buffy would have returned to Sunnydale by the
time she got back.

"Up a little early aren't we?" Buffy just couldn't hold the bitchy
comments back this morning. She too had spent a restless night, and
sleeping in a strange bed didn't seem to help soothe her aching
body. "Didn't think you were a morning person." She could see Faith's
shoulders go tense as she poured herself a cup of coffee and added
three sugars. "What is it, meeting with your parole officer?" she
added in an icy tone. She wasn't even sure why she was talking this
way, it almost seemed as if her voice was acting under its own
volition. She watched as Faith stirred the sugar in slowly before
turning round to face Buffy.

"Listen to me B. I did the crime, I did the time." She spoke with her
voice carefully controlled. "Just like you wanted me to. Ok? I
played this all the way that you wanted and guess what? I did it. I
made it. I have my own life now, and I am going to spend it making up
for what I did. So I don't have to justify myself to you or anyone
else. Are we clear on that? Now, if you'll excuse me, I gotta get
ready for work." Without waiting for a response, she picked up her
cup and headed up to her room to finish getting ready, leaving Buffy
sitting at the kitchen table in a stunned silence.

Faith knew that she was being snappy, but she didn't care all that
much. Buffy had pushed her after all, had been since they met. And
not only with her words. Last night as they were all talking about
the events of their respective evenings, she could feel Buffy's eyes
on her, that cold stare that was supposed to remind her all the time
that she was not forgiven. Faith truly did not know what it would
take to be forgiven, but she figured that if she ever was, then she
would have really given redemption her best shot. But nevertheless,
no matter what she told herself, it had made her feel uncomfortable,
and had lead to a night of restless tossing and turning. Finally, she
had managed to drift off around six am, only to be woken by the alarm
ringing on the other side of the room at seven. She had to keep it
there, it was the only way to ensure she didn't reach out in her
sleep and break the damn thing. After about a minute of insistent
buzzing, she had dragged herself out of bed, wishing that she hadn't
agreed to go in early while Anne was at the meeting with the bank
manager.

Normally, she did not have to get out of bed until eleven - the other
great thing about working at the shelter, she could suit the hours to
fit her lifestyle - and wander around slowly getting ready and
mulling over the events of the previous evening. Wesley would usually
come in around then with a box of doughnuts and Cordy would brew up a
pot of coffee. Faith would have a cigarette sneakily out of the
window (Cordelia didn't like smoking in the office), jelly doughnut
in the other hand, listening to what the other guys had got up to and
watching the people out in the street. Now Buffy had turned up and
everything seemed to have got whacked out of synch. She knew that
logically this was not the case, but in her sleep deprived state,
logic never played much part in the way that she felt. Definitely not
a morning person, Buffy had been right about that. Then to go down
and find Buffy as the first person that she had to confront was just
not the way that she wanted her morning to start.

She stomped around her room getting ready, throwing last night's
battle stained clothes in the direction of the laundry basket and
searching her closet for something clean to wear. Failing to find
anything that she felt like putting on, she shrugged out of her robe
and made her way to the shower, hoping that the hot steaming jets
would ease the tension in her muscles.

The moment that the first drop of water hit her, she made up her mind
to stop thinking about Buffy Summers. There was something about their
history together that made her the one person that Faith couldn't get
out of her head. Sometimes she just wanted to make everything up to
her, other times, like this morning, she just hated her. Mostly she
just wished that things could be how they were all those years ago.
As Faith began to rinse the shampoo out of her hair, she realised
that the tension was starting to slowly slide its way out of her
shoulders, and she rolled her neck, trying to ease them even more.

She towel dried her hair, swore at the clock when she realised she
had been in the shower thirty-five minutes, and reached for her pack
of cigarettes. A bad habit that she had picked up in prison,
something to make the day go faster. It was also a time to think,
staring as the blue-grey smoke curled up through the air, something
to focus on while the thoughts you didn't want to share with anyone
floated randomly around your brain. Now, it was a nicotine fix that
Faith was going to give up any time soon. Really. She felt the first
drag hit her brain, making her a little light headed, like her first
one of the day always did, and instantly felt calmer. Letter the air
dry her body, she walked around the room, throwing the sheets back
onto the bed, and trying to remember where she had put her clean
underwear when she had last done the laundry. As she stubbed out the
remains of the cigarette, she shook her head vigorously to get as
much of the water out of her hair as possible, and began to pull on
her clothes. She was already going to be twenty minutes late, but she
didn't really care. Most of the kids would still be crashed out
anyway. They had nothing to get up for, so most of them didn't bother
until late morning. It made for a busy afternoon, but Anne never
kicked up a fuss about it. After Faith finally located her car keys
on top of the air conditioning unit under the window, she headed out,
walking through the stillness of the front foyer, no sounds to
indicate that Buffy was still around downstairs. As the morning sun
hit her as she stepped out onto the street, she felt glad to be
alive. And glad to be out of the way.

*****

"Erm Angel? I notice that Faith went off to work." Buffy had been
working out how to broach the subject. She was feeling a little
ashamed about the way that she acted that morning. Faith's comment
also reminded her just how much she had cut herself off from her
friends in L.A. Over the years, she had insisted on not wanting to
know anything about Faith and her life, commenting that when a new
slayer arrived, she would know everything she needed to know.

"And?" Angel wondered what Buffy was getting at.

"Well, I kind of assumed that she worked for you."

"No. Well, she did for a few months right after she came out of jail,
but she found a job that she wanted to do."

"Hired hitman?"

"Actually, she works at a shelter for disadvantaged kids." Angel
ignored Buffy's sarcasm. "The homeless, those with drug problems,
that sort of thing." He said it in that calm tone that made Buffy
feel about an inch tall. "Then in the evenings, she either goes out
on patrol or helps me if we have a case."

"Oh."

Angel returned to the papers on his desk, knowing that he had
successfully made his point. Before Buffy could say anything else,
she was spared by Wesley and Gunn walking into the office, both
looking very much the worse for wear.

"Angel. Goodness Buffy, what are you doing here?" He said it with the
affection and admiration which only being the longest slayer to live
in history can inspire.

"The usual trouble Wes. Which it looks like you ran into as well."

"Yes, Angel, we need to talk. There appears to be a problem. Gunn and
I spent the evening hunting a group of vampires. We didn't kill too
many of them, I'm afraid."

"We are talking about some seriously freaky shit going down," Gunn
added, throwing himself down on the couch and placing his feet on the
coffee table. Buffy stood stiff.

"Obviously, I need to do some more research before I can be certain,
but I recognised some of their activities from my time as a Watcher."
Wesley walked over to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup,
nursing an injured shoulder on the way. He turned to Buffy. "As I am
certain you know from Rupert, part of the training as Watcher is
learning and researching the history of demonic activity, even if it
is thought to be no longer active. Well, the group of vampires Gunn
and I faced last night seemed to be very old. There were several
things that gave it away as we were watching them. The way they spoke
for one. And the way they dressed."

"Let me guess?" Angel stood up and walked around to the front of his
desk, crossing his arms across his chest as he leant back upon
it. "Robes? Simple cotton cloth like the monks used to wear?"

"Yes, how did you...?"

"We ran into them last night as well. It seems like they were linked
to the tectonic activity that everyone is saying was the cause of the
earthquake. Light brown robes."

"No." Wesley spun on his heals, sloshing some of his coffee onto the
floor as he did so.

"Yup," nodded Buffy. "I got up close and personal, and they were
definitely not of the leather pants persuasion."

"No, I mean the robes they were wearing were light brown? Not black?"

"Well, they might have been once. Several centuries of washing can do
that to your clothes, no matter what brand of powder you use..."
Buffy trailed off as she watched Wesley make his way over to the
bookcase and begin frantically searching for a book. When he had
located the correct one, he began leafing through the pages.

"Angel, did they say anything to you, anything that could be of use?"
Wesley flipped another page.

"No, nothing. What about you Buffy?"

"Well, there was the usual, 'there are more of us on the way' blah
blah blah. Oh, and he said something about a guy named Cirus."

"Cirus?" Wesley looked up with a glint in his eye that Buffy had seen
from Giles a million times. He flicked the pages back to the index of
the book and began scanning down the entries with his finger. "A-ha!"
Having located the references he needed, he proceeded to turn to the
correct page and quickly read the passages. Buffy hated this part.
Whenever a Watcher, or ex-Watcher for that matter, got excited about
something in a dusty old book, it usually meant the worst.

"Go on," she sighed. "Hit us with the big bad."

"Well, many centuries ago, no-one is entirely sure when, vampires
still held quite a strong position in this reality. I'm sure Giles
has told you this before. They were divided into small groups, clans
if you will, each headed by a prince. This was a tradition that
continued into the eighteenth century, albeit in a much smaller form,
when our books became more detailed," he added as a throwaway
fact. "The only thing that held them together was the fact that the
princes were all powerful, and if you weren't the member of one clan
or another, then you were, in essence, non-existent. Many of the
clans were fierce enemies however, and there were frequent clashes
between them." He looked up as Cordelia made her way unsteadily
through the door, shades still firmly in front of her eyes despite
the fact that she was now inside. The previous night had been a
little too much for her, and she felt her stomach sink when she
realised she had walked in on the middle of one of Wesley's lectures.
That must mean that there was immediate evil to deal with. The sort
that was selfish enough not to wait for your hangover to clear before
they unleashed impending doom on the world. She waved slightly and
walked over to her desk, relieved that there would be some aspirin in
there. She always kept a large bottle in her desk in the event of
vision migraines. She waved for Wesley to go on.

"Well, over the years, the clans became fewer in number as they
became conquered, until there were only two major clans. These were
distinguished by the colour of their robes. One tribe wore only
black, the other brown. Light brown specifically. For many years it
has been thought that the clans died out naturally over the course of
the centuries when man's grip on the reality became stronger. The
last known prince of the brown robed clan, the Valdemar's, was named
Cirus." He lifted up the book so that everyone could see the picture.

"Ooh! That's the one. The weapons." Buffy pointed to the
etching. "The lead one was carrying those. They seemed a little
pointless to me."

"I need to do more research on this Angel. It is imperative that we
know what we are fighting. If it is true that Cirus is still a
prince, then by now he will be very strong. To remain hidden from the
sight of the council is indicative that they have been storing up
their strength specifically for an occasion. We really need to know
what that is."

"Buffy," Angel turned to her. "I think that you ought to stay around
for a while until we can sort this out. If that's ok with you?"

"No problem. I'll give Xander a call and he can keep an eye on things
in Sunnydale. For once things seem to be quiet there anyway."

"You can stay here at the hotel for as long as you need to."

"Thanks." Buffy forced a smile. She wanted this to be over as quickly
as possible. When she had left Sunnydale, she expected to be gone for
two days, three at the most. The thought of having to stay here
filled her with a feeling of dread that she just could not place. Not
to mention the fact that she would have to go shopping and get some
more clothes. This whole week was turning into too much trouble.

*****

"Aha!" Wesley leapt up from the table, clutching the book in his
hands. It had been a long day of researching, interrupted only by two
phone calls from potential clients. "The weapons that you saw Buffy
are called acheulians. They are a ceremonial axe make from flaked
flint. They are symbolic and necessary to call for Ictinius."

"Ictinius? Why do I know that name?" Angel was certain that he heard
it somewhere a long time ago, but he couldn't quite place it.

"He was the first."

"The first what?" snapped Cordy. She hated the big build up. And her
head was still throbbing. She was going to kill Lorne when she saw
him later.

"Vampire. He was the original human-demon hybrid."

"Hey folks!" Faith swaggered through the door and threw her bag on
the couch. "Wassup?"

*****

"The ritual to bring Ictinius back from the demon dimension has only
been recorded once, and this was an unofficial documentation. Back in
the seventh century, the cult attempted to perform the ritual. They
had moved from the mainland of Europe into Britain and Ireland. A
monk called upon the ancient teachings of the Christian church which
have long since been lost to invoke the power of the cross to stop
the demon being raised."

"Invoke the power of the cross. You wanna translate Wes?" Gunn
laughed.

"Before that time, crosses had no effect on vampires. Nor did Holy
Water. Christianity and vampirism had no reason to cross paths. But
the monk, St. Adamnan performed a ritual of some kind to give them
power over the vampires. Of course, it has all been kept very hush
hush by the church, but it damaged the clan enough to warrant them
not trying again as far as we know."

"So we just kill them before they get to do the ritual, right?" Faith
grinned.

"I'm afraid it is not as simple as that."

"It never is."

"Ictinius was the first vampire. Those he sired, and whom they in
turn sired, were the ones that went on to form the clan culture. If
both are here, then I think we know what we are dealing with."

"We do?"

"Both of the tribes have the power, theoretically at least, to
perform the ritual. Whichever one actually summons Ictinius will have
him for their new prince. The power that he wields will guarantee
their dominance over the other tribe."

"So why don't we let one of them summon him and they can kill each
other off. Save ourselves a job," Gunn shrugged.

"Think about it. If he had the power to destroy a clan that has
managed to survive for several thousand years..."

"Hey." Cordelia poked her head around the panel door to the office.
Anne spun around in her seat, hand to her chest.

"Oh, it's you. Sorry, I mean, hey. I guess I've been a little on edge
after the other night." Several nights earlier, the demon world had
crossed into hers. Again. Anne was beginning to wonder if it was
something about her that caused them to find her. She always felt so
stupid when she remembered the time when she had actively sought them
out, when she naively thought that it was the way forward. So, when a
vampire had come into the shelter four nights ago, she was glad that
Faith had been working late. Well, not exactly working, just talking
to one of the kids who had come in. The girl had really seemed to
open up to Faith, and Anne knew better than to ask what it was about
and get Faith to break a confidence. Faith had quickly, and
discreetly, disposed of the vamp before he could do anything to
terrorise any of the kids any more than the world already had.

"That is more than understandable." Cordelia's voice snapped her out
of the thought. "Though, if it's a good indication, I come in
daylight. I brought you these." Cordelia held up a bag. Ever since
she had been getting a regular paycheck from Angel Investigations,
she had moments when she slipped a little into her old ways. Even
now. Okay, her clothes were still from the designer rails, but mainly
from the sales. The few acting jobs paid for most of them. She had
been working late at the office when Faith came back from the
shelter, more than a little pissed about the fact that a vampire had
dared to come and even attempt to prey on them. Cordelia had been
surprised the first time she had seen Faith get so protective about
the people who needed the shelter, especially the younger ones. But
since she had first met Anne, she made a point of taking a batch of
her clothes down there every once in a while. That night she had made
Faith a cup of coffee, and talked to her about what was going on down
there lately, and it reminded her that she had no been down for a
while. Angel Investigations took up so much of her time that she did
not even have room in her schedule for a social life any more, let
alone acts of civic virtue. She knew that this offering was the least
that she could do. Not that you ever saw many street kids wearing
Prada, but it was the only thing that she could really think of, and
her closet was getting more than a little overcrowded again.

"Thank you," Anne said with a wide smile, putting down the paperwork
she had been sorting and walking over. She took the bag from Cordy
and glanced at the blouse on the top. "This should make some of the
kids happy."

"It's too dressy isn't it, I knew it was, if you don't want it..."
Cordelia responded brightly trying to hide the fact that she was
feeling crestfallen. An acting job a few months ago had given her the
power to go even more overboard than usual.

"No really. A lot of the kids in here, we try to find them jobs, but
they have nothing to wear to interviews. Most of the clothes people
donate to us are ones that they were going to throw out anyway."

"Glad to be of use."

"Cordy, you know that your clothes are always of use. And it is
always appreciated. How about a coffee? Do you have to be anywhere?"

"Nowhere important."

"Great," Anne moved over to the kettle. "It seems like it's been ages
since we've had the chance to chat."

"Well, you know how work is. No rest for the wicked. Which
unfortunately means I don't get any either."

"Tell me about it. I love the kids here and everything, but it seems
like such a long time since I've done anything that isn't connected
to this place. Even when I go out it's to some fundraiser or other."

"We ought to go out together one night. Thanks," Cordelia took the
mug of instant from Anne. "Forget about work, have a few drinks, a
few dances, keep an eye out for the local talent..."

"That there is no way we could get because our lives mean that we
would never see them," Anne finished for her, laughing.

"Agreed. But there is no rule against looking."

"True."

"That's settled then." Cordelia took a sip from her mug. "Friday
night, you and me, out on the town."

"Friday's always such a big night here, I'm not sure I can-"

"Faith will cover for you," interrupted Cordelia
confidently. "Buffy's here, so something tells me that Faith will
take any excuse to be out of there."

"Faith told me. They still having problems?"

"Those two will always have problems. And not just with each other,"
she added dryly. "Besides, Faith loves working here, she won't mind
doing a few extra hours. Ask her when she comes in later. Before that
new woman of hers gets in there first."

"She's seeing someone?"

"Yes, didn't she tell you?" Frowned Cordelia. She knew how close the
two women were. It seemed unusual for Faith not to have mentioned
it. "It's probably nothing. She only mentioned it to me in passing."
Cordelia dismissed the subject. "I'm sure she won't mind anyway. So
is it a deal?"

"Okay then." Anne was still distracted by the fact that Faith hadn't
told her she was seeing someone new. Normally she would be the first
one to be told. Anne just hoped that Faith wasn't keeping this one
under wraps for the wrong reasons. Not that she could imagine what
those reasons would be, but Faith's choice of women at times had been
dubious to say the least.

"Fine, leave it to me. I'll find the best place to go. We can meet at
the Hyperion, say, about nine?"

"I'd love to. So, what's happening at the moment then?"

"Vampires, would you believe," laughed Cordelia, as she began to fill
Anne in on the week's events.

*****

There was a knock on her door. Buffy rolled over and squinted at the
clock. Somehow she had managed to sleep her way through the most of
the morning. "Come in," she mumbled in the direction of the door.
Fred came through, brandishing a cup of coffee.

"Angel thought you might need this to help you get up."

"Thanks Fred."

"No problem. So what's going on between you and Faith?" Fred's
directness was something that never failed to surprise Buffy. They
had never really spoken that much, but whenever they did, Fred was
perfectly willing to speak her mind. Buffy suspected that it was
something to do with the fact that when she came back to L.A. from
that demon dimension, wherever it was, Angel had left it to Cordy to
re-educate her in the ways of human life again. In her bitchiest
moments, Buffy wondered whether getting a real human to do it would
have been a wiser choice. Thinking like that reminded her of how she
really didn't know any of them any more. Angel, Cordy, Wesley, they
had all been so close at one time. Close in the sense that they knew
and understood each other. Now, she was the one who was distant from
them. Not wanting to face the fact that it was a problem of her own
making, Buffy pushed the thought from her head.

"What do you mean, me and Faith?"

"You are both Slayers, right? You're both trying to find a way to stop
this uprising thingy, and all you do is fight each other. I spoke to
her and she said that you were the one with the problem."

"Oh did she?" Buffy was enraged. She had a good mind to march
straight down into the office and put Faith straight. *She* was the
one with the problem! "I do not have a problem with Faith. Oh, apart
from the fact that she tried to kill me, tried to kill Angel and
fucked my boyfriend's brains out. If I want to hold a teeny weeny
grudge then I can."

"Oh."

"Indeed."

"No, I meant, she was right. You are the one with the problem. She's
got over all of that now. I mean," Fred sat on the bed, "Faith came
out of prison a couple of years after I got back from Pylea. I judge
all my life by that you know. There were all the times before Pylea,
and I really don't remember them much, and then there has been all
the years since. I relate everything to it. It was a life changing
experience you know." She looked up at Buffy, who had a 'get on with
it' expression on her face. "Well, Faith got out of prison, and she
was still really upset about everything that she had done. She told
me that she wasn't angry any more. Just upset and guilty about all
the things that she had done. And she was always sorriest about the
things that she had done to hurt you. But that made her feel even
worse, because she said she should feel sorry for all the other
people she hurt just as much as she felt sorry about you. Angel told
her it was because she was human."

"She always knew how to say the right thing Fred."

"Yeah, but she started working, and after a while, she stopped
feeling sorry for herself. She said that there was nothing she could
do to make the past go away, and there was no way that you would talk
to her and give her the chance to show you that she was sorry. But
there were all those people she was helping, regular people was what
she called them, and she said she was going to stop other people from
getting hurt the way she used to be. I mean, the way she used to do."
Fred got up off the bed with a big smile. "So by my logic, she really
doesn't have a problem any more. And if it's not her..." Fred let her
voice trail off as she headed out of the door. Buffy took a sip of
the coffee. She hadn't had morning lectures since she was at college.

*****

"Hey guys. Faith left her bag over at the shelter, so I thought I
would drop it by." Anne breezed through the doors of Angel
Investigations. Buffy looked up from the book she was reading and
then jumped up in surprise.

"Lily?"

"Buffy?" the young woman looked as surprised as she did. And shocked
by the fact that someone was calling her by one of the names that she
had not used for such a long time. It felt odd hearing it coming out
of someone's mouth. "Erm, and it's Anne now." She smiled shyly,
remembering how she had acquired the name. Buffy looked at her with a
smile and nodded.

"You two know each other?" Faith came down the stairs and into the
foyer of the building.

"Long time ago," said Anne dismissively. "You left your bag at work.
I didn't know whether or not there might be something in there that
you would need for patrol, so I thought I would drop it off on my way
home."

"Thanks. Never know when the extra stakes will come in handy."

"Do you want me to give you a lift somewhere? I'm on my way home now."

"Sure, just drop me off by your place and I'll do a sweep of
downtown."

"No problem. Nice to have met you again Buffy."

"You too."

"Later guys." Faith threw her bag over her shoulder and led the way
out of the building. Buffy sat back down in her chair. It seemed
strange that the girl she had heard so much about was the same one
who was once so weak. She allowed herself a smile of satisfaction. It
wasn't very often that you got to see the end result of your actions
when you helped someone. More often than not you just vanished into
the night and never let them know what had happened. But every once
in a while, you got a little reminder that you were doing the right
thing. That it would all be worth it in the end.

*****

It was quiet downtown. As Faith lazily patrolled the cemetery, she
was relieved to find that she appeared to be the only one there. She
needed to think, and here was the best place to do that. She also
needed an early night if she was going to cover for Anne tomorrow. It
would make for a long day, and her sense of duty meant that she knew
she would sneak out after curfew to get in a quick patrol. So the
peace was welcome tonight, just her, her thoughts and a few thousand
dead bodies to share them with. At work it was always too busy for
quiet reflection, and the atmosphere back at HQ, as she jokingly
referred to it, was so tense that even alone in her own room she
found that she was distracting herself from thinking about all the
things that had been going on in her life over the course of the past
week. She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a packet of
cigarettes. For some reason, she had avoided smoking in front of
Buffy, instead having sneaky ones in her bedroom, and cramming in as
many as possible on the way to and from work. She lit one and inhaled
deeply, before finding a convenient tombstone to lean against.

She knew that she should really be happy. Things were going great
with her new girlfriend, and she was confident that she would defeat
the latest vampire uprising. She was scared, yes, but she knew that
fear was a safety valve for her. It stopped her being too confident,
when she would make stupid mistakes and put her life in danger. Or
worse, the lives of her friends. But somewhere inside, she was
feeling deeply unsatisfied, and trying to find the cause of this was
the thing that she had been trying to avoid thinking about. Because
she knew the basic reason. Buffy. Hell, it was always Buffy. They had
not spoken for years, and Faith had always had the good grace to keep
out of the way whenever Buffy had visited L.A., even stopping at
Anne's some nights just to make extra certain that they would not
bump into each other. But now they were living in the same building,
working together, and there seemed to be no escape for her.

It didn't help that the two weren't getting along. She didn't know
what she had expected, but somewhere she had hoped that when they
finally met once more, she would have been forgiven and the two of
them could start over. Faith knew that she had been given more than
her fair share of second chances, and she was wrong to expect another
one, but it would mean so much to her. The chance to make it right
with the one person who she had hurt the most. Not physically of
course, but on the inside. It seemed odd that out of everyone that
Buffy knew, she was the one who had understood what made her tick,
where all her weak spots were and how to connect them. They had
talked many times, back in Sunnydale when they first met, about the
Slayer connection and what it meant. And Faith certainly remembered
Buffy meeting her in her dreams when she was in a coma. It was
something that they had never had chance to discuss, and probably
never would, but when she was in prison, Faith had thought about it a
lot. That was probably their closest moment, despite the fact that
they had tried to kill each other, and since then it had all been
downhill.

She lit another cigarette from the butt of the last one, before
flicking it away. Out of habit, she quickly scanned the graveyard for
signs of trouble, but on seeing none, she returned to her thoughts.
Her new girlfriend. Could she even call her that? They had been on
several dates, and they were certainly lovers, but girlfriend implied
a possessiveness and commitment, something that Faith was not sure
that she could give to the relationship. The sex was good, hell, it
was fantastic, but like the majority of the women that she had slept
with, the times that they had spent together had largely been built
upon lies. The irregular hours, the sudden date cancellations and
invariable late arrival for the ones that she did make, tended to
annoy them to the point where they no longer wanted to see her. She
always just shrugged it off. Rejection was something that she had
grown used to over the course of her life, and it was no longer such
a big deal. Besides, she was never in love with any of them. They
were never The One, the person who she could give her heart and soul
to.

Faith had talked about this with Angel. No one else. She wanted his
opinion, and he seemed to have the most experience in affairs of the
heart. She needed to know whether she would ever be capable of love.
He told her that of course she would. That if she was capable of hate
then she could be capable of love, because the line between them was
such a fine one, and both required passion. Emotion. That just
because she had not found it yet did not mean that she was never
going to find it at all. That was what she liked most about Angel. He
never tried to convince her that she wasn't fucked up, he just took
it as a given. What he did do was give her his belief that she would
get better, that she could if she helped herself. Let herself. How
with her background it was no surprise that her head was messed up
and she had trust issues and emotional problems. But he also pointed
out to her the fact that she had been able to convince other people
of her good heart, and the fact that she had changed. He reminded her
of the friendship that she now had with Cordelia, and the fact that
they trusted each other. If she could let herself have friends that
she felt that deeply about, then one day she would be able to do the
same with her lovers. When she found the person she was supposed to
be with.

Which just brought her whole train of thought back to Buffy and the
cycle began again.

*****

Knowing that Anne was comfortable with the whole 'demon thing', Cordy
knew that there was one place in town with a wild enough nightlife
and even the prospect of finding out why she was attracted to a
strong and confident blonde. Part of her mind reminded her all of a
sudden Buffy Summers in a Prom dress, but she quickly shoved it away.
Cordelia Chase was most definitely not into women. Not that she was
into men either, she reflected with a sigh. Most of them just seemed
to want to impregnate her with demon spawn. Still. You would think by
now they would have gotten over it. They could probably still smell
the evil vibes that came from spending the first eighteen years of
her life in Sunnydale.

But one thing that Cordy knew for certain about evil was that you
needed a break from it every once in a while. Anne spent far too much
time at the shelter as far as she was concerned, and Faith had
confided in her that Anne could do with a break. Even if it was only
for one night, just to take her mind of the responsibility she felt
towards the teen shelter that had become more or less her entire life
over the past decade. So Faith had agreed to cover for the evening,
just as Cordelia had promised that she would, and Anne was able to go
out for the evening with Cordelia. A few drinks, a laugh at a
Gruhnmar demon trying to do karaoke, and a chat with Lorne at the end
of the evening, well after closing time she hoped, sounded like a
very good idea. And in doing so, she had convinced herself that her
actions were nothing but deeply charitable.

Anne and Cordelia had become good friends over time. There was a lot
to be said for someone who actually understood when you said that you
felt there was something that you had to do with your life. It was
nice to be able to talk about it without fear of the raised eyebrow
and someone thinking that you were a lunatic. It also came in handy
when the less savoury elements of the demon world made their way
through your doors and you needed someone to turn to. True, most of
the time they were caught up in their work to see each other
regularly, but whenever Cordelia was having a slow day at the office
she knew that she could phone the shelter and find either Anne or
Faith there to chat to.

And, in truth, Anne liked Cordy's company. She spent so much time
working at the shelter the only relationship that she had been
involved in for a while was with Faith. Not that you could even
really call that a relationship. It had been born out of a mutual
understanding and need, but without the passion and deeper emotion.
Obviously, after the initial need had fizzled out, there was nothing
really left to them. From what she could remember, they hadn't really
talked about it; they had both known when it was over, and got on
with their lives working together amicably. She knew that Angel had
known about the fling, and suspected that the others did as well.
What she was pretty certain of was that they did not know was the
fact that she and Faith had slept with each other again just a few
months ago. Faith had called by the shelter after a particularly
frantic patrol, just to make sure that everything was okay there.
Anne had been feeling lonely, and Faith had been oozing adrenaline
and sexuality, so before they really had time to question what was
going on, they were kissing each other, perched on the main desk in
the office. One thing had led to another, and whilst it wasn't bad by
any means, it was a one off that neither of them felt any great
desire to repeat. Just by the looks that they gave each other as
Faith pulled her boots back on, they both knew it was something that
would never go any further than those four walls of that office.

So apart from that minor tryst, Anne spent much of her time without
company. Cordelia was attractive, but more importantly, they got on.
Anne appreciated Cordelia's dry sense of wit, or cutting sarcasm as
others called it, not to mention the fact that the woman was a part
time actress. Such things have a certain appeal, even to those
devoted to saving whatever little bit of humanity that they could. A
pretty face was always a bonus.

"So what are you two lovely ladies having?" Lorne marked them out for
special treatment as they walked up to the bar.

"Tempting as it is to say champagne, I'll have a glass of your finest
house white," smiled Cordelia.

"The same please," nodded Anne. She liked coming here. It was the
only place in L.A. where you could be surrounded by demons and still
feel safe at the same time.

"No problem. Do you think you can manage that?" he said in a tone of
exasperation to the bartender. "Wine chilled, clean glasses. Take the
carafe over as well, the rest of it is on the house for my two
favourite customers." Just then a loud howling filled the place as a
demon began sending out a rendition of "California Dreaming."

Difficult when you had only a limited number of sounds at your
disposal. Lorne winced. Then smiled. "Well, there's one good thing,"
he said in whisper in the direction of the two women. "According to
my reading at least he'll never be singing here again. Excuse me, I
gotta find a way to break the news to him gently." With that he
minced off, grabbing a G&T that was conveniently positioned on the
bar as he walked past.

Cordelia and Anne walked off to the nearest table, followed by the
bartender carrying two glasses and the bottle of wine. Cordy had
warned Angel that she might be in late in the morning, as she was
planning to have a good night out, and Faith had agreed to cover for
however long it took for Anne's hangover to clear. So she was
prepared for a no holds barred night of fun and games. The games
especially, she smiled to herself.

"So are you going to sing?" asked Anne with just the slightest hint
of a smirk as she tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear.

"That depends. Are you?" Cordelia counter-challenged.

"I don't think so. Maybe we could compromise and do a duet?"

"Given our sense of alternative lifestyle, 'I Will Survive'?"

"'Devil In A Blue Dress!'"

"Hmm, let me think, 'Bat Out Of Hell'? No, wait, 'Road To Hell' would
be better!"

"Good choice," Anne raised her glass in mock salute. "Let's just see
how drunk we get first though. I don't want to make a complete fool
of myself."

"You couldn't make more of a fool of yourself than him," Cordelia
nodded towards the stage. "Or her, or it. Whatever it is."

"I suppose."

"No really," Cordelia reached across the table and placed her hand on
top of Anne's. "I don't think you could ever look stupid." She
smiled, then suddenly felt embarrassed and pulled her hand away.

"Thank you." By the faint hint of colour making its way into Anne's
cheeks, she was a little taken aback by the comments. Cordy opted for
a quick subject change.

"So, anything in here you like the look of? We are supposed to be
checking out the local talent after all," she said with a wink.

"Erm, something in my own species would be good, so I'll tell you if
one comes in. What about you?"

"No thanks. I am happy with the two eyes I already have."

"Point taken," laughed Anne, draining the rest of her wine and
refilling her glass and then Cordelia's. They raised their glasses,
and shared another awkward smile.

The awkwardness that sat between them tonight was unusual. Normally
when they were together, they laughed and joked in easy conversation,
but tonight the tension seemed to be palpable. Cordelia thought she
knew why, and believed that much of it was her fault. Either that or
Buffy's. How she came to that conclusion was a mystery, but it seemed
to make some kind of twisted sense. Since Buffy had come to L.A., all
of their senses seemed to have been heightened, and they were on edge
in the way that only Buffy Summers could make you feel. Faith had
been almost withdrawn for days. The two of them still laughed and
joked, but Cordelia had noticed that Faith was spending more time in
her room than usual, and even when they were researching, Faith
appeared to become lost in thoughts totally unrelated to the vampire
threat that faced them. It did not take a genius to work out why
Faith was so engrossed in herself, but she had noticed that it had
affected Angel as well.

For her part, seeing Buffy again was making her realise one thing.
That she was no longer in school, and that they were all adults now.
This had stopped being the exciting game that it had been when she
was younger, but now at times a weary sense of responsibility. The
visions did not help. She knew that she could not walk away, or opt
for a career change. This was her life and she had to deal with it.

But it could be lonely. Seeing Buffy there reaffirmed just how lonely
it could be. Buffy who always had the boyfriend, the painful
relationships, the best friends, was now very much alone, and distant
from them all. The years of service to the good of humanity seemed to
have taken its toll. Cordelia was determined that the same fate would
not befall her. And that meant taking charge of her own life and
feelings. She was just not sure how to go about it any more. She
sighed to herself, realising that the shit-hot cheerleader and queen
of Sunnydale High was well and truly gone, and it didn't look like
she was ever coming back. She licked her lips, tasting the fruitiness
of the wine that lingered on them, and decided that she would put
into action all the moves that she had left.

*****

"Let me get this clear. There are two Slayers now. In the same place
at the same time. And they managed to defeat you before you could
complete the first stage of the ritual?"

"That is correct my liege."

"Do you realise how far this puts us back? We must now wait until the
quarter moon to perform the ritual again."

"Yes sir."

"Why was I not informed of this earlier?"

"An error. My apologies. I was led to believe that you had been told.
Forgive us."

"So the plans for the second stage are now worthless. We are one step
further away from greatness."

"I cannot express my sorrow that you were not informed of this
earlier, my Prince."

"But do we know how our enemies faired?"

"Word has it that they too came under attack and were temporarily
defeated as were ourselves."

"It would appear so. They killed less of our enemies clan, but
nevertheless halted their ritual also."

"But their blood was spilled was it not? They will no longer harm the
attempts of our enemies to perform the ritual at the quarter moon?"

"It is reported that they live. They escaped with only minor injuries
which their mortal bodies could survive."

"Impossible! And why, pray tell, would they be aiding us in the
defeat of our enemies?

"It is our belief that they act as assistance to the Slayer. Sorry,
Slayers."

"But the Slayer always works alone, save for her mortal watcher. It
has been that way for many centuries since."

"It appears that this is no longer the case. The Slayer is no longer
a girl, but a woman."

"She has passed her twenty-fifth year?"

"By all accounts, both have. It is rumoured that they surround
themselves with experienced fighters, who know of our existence and
the methods necessary for our demise. The Slayers no longer hunt
alone."

"This is not the kind of news that I had hoped to wish for. We must
make haste. The ritual must not be stopped this time. Be discreet.
Find again the tools needed to complete the first incantation, and
another sacred space in which to perform it. We cannot go back to the
last, the danger of discovery is too great. Go now, and begin the
preparations."

"Yes, Cirus, my Lord." The vampire bowed and backed out of the room.
He had escaped with his life, something that he had not expected when
he went in to inform his prince of the news.

*****

They walked back to Cordelia's apartment. Teetered back might be a
more appropriate term. Cordelia had not asked Anne to go back, it was
just an unspoken decision that had been made when they had left the
club and the cold night air hit them. Linking arms for support, they
had headed back in the same direction, both feeling somewhat
grateful. Cordelia for the break from evil and the sense of impending
doom, and Anne for the respite from paperwork and rescuing those with
no place left to go. It had been a good night, and despite the fact
that they had been surrounded by demons for the most part, they had
been able to forget that their lives were anything out of the
ordinary. They were both two normal, single, out on the town twenty
something's, without a care in the world. Both knew that tomorrow it
would be back to the real world, but they pushed that thought to the
back of their minds. Cordelia knew that she had a nice bottle of
Chardonnay chilled in the refrigerator at home, and clean sheets in
the spare room. If it came to that. Another thought which she tried
to push to the back of her mind, this time with much more limited
success.

Phantom Dennis was waiting for them when they got back. Cordelia
could sense his presence much stronger now. Oh, and the fact that the
TV suddenly switched from the adult channel to a documentary on the
killer whale also gave it away.

"Dennis? I'm home." She looked around the room as Anne sat down on
the couch. "Which means you can go to bed," she whispered. The
response was a chirpy knocking sound, which made Cordelia blush. She
also had become very familiar with his taps over the years, and she
had a good idea what he meant with this one. As he left the room, she
opened the wine and took it over to where Anne was sitting, and
poured them both a large glass.

"I've had a lovely night. Thank you," smiled Anne.

"Me too. A toast." Cordelia raised her glass. "To..." she broke off,
insure of what to toast.

"Many more good nights?" suggested Anne.

"To many more good nights," smiled Cordelia, raising her glass and
gently clinking them together. The both took a hearty swig of wine,
the amount that was already inside them making them less than
sophisticated.

"I am going to have a hangover tomorrow."

"Don't sweat it. You can go into work late."

"I can't do that. I have to open up, there's all the-"

"Nope. I had a word with Faith. She agreed that you needed a good
night out and so she's covering until you get there."

"You arranged that for me?"

"Well, when Cordelia Chase has a good night out, she doesn't let
anything get in the way."

"Oh really? Nothing?" There was a hint of double meaning in the tone.

"Nothing." Cordelia's voice was firm in response, as she took another
sip of wine and leant further back into the couch. The silence
stretched out in front of them once again, and yet another exchange
of awkward smiles.

Cordelia did her best to stifle a yawn, but Anne noticed.

"Perhaps we should head off to bed."

"Yes, erm, I guess we should. Erm, the spare room is next to mine."
Cordelia swallowed, cursing herself for being such a gutless wonder.

"Great."

"Well," they both stood up and made their way out of the
lounge. "That door there," Cordelia pointed. They both hesitated
outside the door.

"Thank you. For such a good night." Anne pulled Cordelia into a hug
and placed a kiss on her cheek. She pulled back slowly, their faces
an inch away from each other. Neither moved for several long seconds.

"My pleasure." Cordelia smiled. Then once again the pair seemed
overcome by embarrassment and slowly pulled away from each
other. "I'll be in my room if you need anything. Sleep well."
Cordelia leaned forward and returned the kiss on the cheek.

"You too. Sweet dreams." Anne gave Cordelia another smile before
opening the door and slipping through.

"Yeah," whispered Cordy with a sigh before making her way falteringly
into her own room.

*****

"Hello?"

"Tara? It's Buffy."

"Buffy, how are you? I tried your apartment but just got the machine."

"I'm in L.A. With Angel." Buffy had sat alone in her room with
nothing but her own thoughts for company. Now she felt like she was
reaching rock bottom and needed a friendly voice.

"I sense trouble."

"I don't think it's anything that we won't be able to deal with. As
long as we get to it in time, that is. Actually, I wondered if we
could just talk."

"You've been thinking about her as well." It was a sad statement of
fact. Not a day went by when Tara did not think about Willow. She
didn't cry as much now, not as much as in the early days by any
means, but sometimes, she still sat alone at night and let herself
shed a few tears.

"Yeah. It's strange being here, that's all. I don't belong in L.A.
but I need to be here. I don't have a choice."

"You've been avoiding going there for so long, except for two day
trips. You know that it had to happen some day. Be honest with
yourself Buffy, it was the last thing that you had to run away from.
It's good that you're facing it now."

"It's just...just that it's like the way it used to be in Sunnydale.
It's like they have the whole Scooby gang thing going here. Apart
from the fact that they don't have all the real Scoobies, and I'm
just not part of it."

"You have to make yourself part of it. No, I didn't mean it like
that. You have to let yourself be part of it. Not fight it. The old
Scooby gang has gone, Buffy," she added gently. Tara could hear the
sniff on the other end of the line that told her Buffy was close to
tears. She did not want to be hard on the girl. After all, there was
no way that she could have known, and even if she had, Tara knew that
there was nothing she could have done. Even the Slayer in her could
never have hurt her best friend. The bond went deeper than that. "It
will never be like the Scoobies Buffy, you know that, but you can
still be a part of it." Tara paused for a second, bracing herself to
ask the question. "How is she?"

"She's..." the words seemed to stick in Buffy's throat. "She seems
happy here. How can they forgive her like that?" Unconsciously her
voice rose.

"Buffy, it's been a long time. You know that. People change. You
ought to be glad that she's happy. Buffy, you should be glad that she
made it back to the right path. Give her some credit for that. We
both know how hard it is to make wrongs right."

"But if she could do it then why couldn't Willow?" Buffy yelled, her
emotions finally getting the better of her. The anger passed away
quickly and Tara could hear the sobbing on the other end of the
telephone.

"I don't know Buffy." Tara sighed. "I wish that I had the answers,
but I just don't."

"Is it my fault?" whispered Buffy, years of self-doubt heavy in her
voice. She and Tara had had this conversation many times over the
years; nothing that they could say ever removed the guilt from the
other, no matter how willing each of them was to take all the blame
onto their own shoulders.

"No Buffy, it's not your fault."

"But if she hadn't tried to bring me back to life-"

"Then the world would have been a much worse place." Tara cut
in. "Besides, that wasn't the start of it Buffy. You know that was my
fault. If Glory hadn't gotten to me that time, then Willow would
never have considered using those magics in the first place. Would
she? Huh?" Tara coaxed gently. Part of her was trying to ease the
pain of her friend, but mostly, she believed every word she said. It
seemed so long ago, and yet at times like this the pain was as fresh
as if it happened yesterday. Tara could barely remember getting back
from that dark place in her head, it had all been too much of a shock
to her system. All she remembered was Willow holding her, and knowing
that it felt so good to be back. It wasn't until days later, after
they had buried Buffy in that quiet little ceremony, that the rest of
them had filled in the blanks for her, the places where she had no
memory or self. Dawn told most of the story, breaking down repeatedly
as she came to terms with the fact that in the space of a few months
she had lost the two people that meant the most to her. The only two
people in the world that she could call her own. Dawn told Tara, with
a hint of pride breaking through, how Willow had gone after Glory to
take revenge. Of the power that Willow had when Glory had come after
them again and again. The freaky way that Willow's eyes went
completely black when she was unleashing her power.

Tara knew that she should have taken heed then. But she was so hurt
by the loss of Buffy, the shock of returning to the world after
living so long inside her own head, that she was just glad that Glory
had been defeated and that Willow had saved her. She had told herself
that Willow had taken desperate measures, but only those merited by
the severity of the situation. It just felt so good to be in Willow's
arms again that she had found it easy to dismiss the tingle of fear
that had pricked her spine at the thought of the power that Willow
had flowing through her. Besides, they had argued about it once
before, and it was because of that she had wondered off alone and
been captured by Glory. So Tara really did blame herself.

Buffy blamed herself as well. Tara knew that. If Willow hadn't
thought it possible to raise Buffy from the dead, if only she had
rested in peace like she should have done. But Willow was overcome by
grief, and her new-found sense of power told her she could try it.
That there would be no harm in at least giving it a go. The world
would be a better place with Buffy in it, that was the one thing she
knew for certain. So if she had to dabble in the darkest heart of
black magic for a while, then surely it would be ok as long as Buffy
came back to them. This was the precise reasoning that Willow had
used on Tara. The pleading in her voice half convinced her, and Tara
decided that at least if she helped Willow, she could be certain that
things would stay under control. And she could take some of the
burden, stop Willow from having to absorb it all. And they did it.
They had managed to bring Buffy back to life, as she was, and they
had returned hope to the hellmouth. Tara had believed that it was the
end of it. Buffy had not understood just what had been involved in
the spell.

It wasn't until a few months later that Tara had begun to get the
slight feeling that something was wrong. Willow was using magic for
her own personal benefit, rather than for the greater good. Tara knew
that this was the downfall of many witches in the past. It was so
tempting to try to change the world around you to make it the sort of
place that you want it to be. To make it easier and more pleasant for
you. Yet Tara had gently chastised Willow, who had cried and
apologised, and promised her that she would not do it again. And Tara
had wanted to believe her. She thought that they had made it through
another milestone in their life together, another thing that they had
managed to overcome. And their love was stronger for it. They
undeniably grew closer. Tara's happiness at this had blinded her to
the fact that Willow was drawing further away from the rest of the
gang, spending more time on her own when Tara was at the library or
in class. She had been so willing to believe, she had allowed her
love to get the better of her senses.

"Tara?" the voice on the other end of the line broke her from her
reverie.

"Sorry. We should stop blaming ourselves for this. We have to Buffy.
Otherwise we will never be able to get on with our lives properly."

"But it's been so long. Why won't the pain go away?"

"Some pain never goes away. It will get easier. We just have to let
it happen. Stop fighting it by looking for blame in everything we do
or think. Like Amy."

"How is she?" gulped Buffy. The mention of Amy at this point in the
conversation was almost too much to bare. After all, she was the one
who had suffered most. Suffered in silence and fear. Indebted to
Willow for making her human again, she was, in effect, her slave.
Willow had known her façade was slipping. This was something that
they could realise now. Willow needed someone else to help her,
someone whose loyalty she could depend on, no matter what she needed
from them. She had de-ratted Amy using a dark spell, one that bound
Amy to her.

"Amy's ok. She's still holding down her job. I think she's starting
to like it." Tara tried to put a smile into her voice, for her own
benefit as much as Buffy's. "I spoke to her last week, and she seemed
happy. When I spoke to Xander about it, he seemed to think that she
might have a date." Tara could not help but chuckle, and Buffy
followed suit.

Cordelia bounded into the office, pleased with the way her second
audition had gone. She had been called back into the casting area
after a forty-five minute wait and told by the dour faced director
that she had got the part. It was a small one, but saving the world
never left you much time for serious acting anyway. She had given up
that ambition a few years after coming to L.A. Now the work that she
did paid for little luxuries that her Angel Investigations paycheck
never quite stretched to. Her last acting job had been a bit part as
a victim in a TV sci-fi series. Quite literally in fact. Yep, she got
to be killed by a vampire before the opening credits even came on.
She hadn't had the heart to tell the people in make-up that they'd
got it all wrong. But this new job appeared a little more promising
in terms of cash.

"Hey guys," she said with a coy smile.

"Somebody give you a happy?" smirked Gunn.

"No, stupid!" she swatted his arm playfully. "I have just been given
the part in the next Fruzles ad."

"Fruzles? The tangy chewy candy thing?"

"The one and only. I am going to get paid a nice wad of cash to put
one in my mouth and say 'mmmm, Fruzles, the tangy, chewy whatever it
is.'"

"Sounds like easy money."

"And so much easier on the skin than slaying demons for a living."
She turned to Angel. "So, assuming that the world doesn't end and
there is a next week, then I'm going to need two days off."

"No problem. What kind of a name is Fruzles anyway?" he muttered to
himself absent-mindedly as he walked back into his office.

*****

"I'm running out of ideas," sighed Angel. His usual sources had dried
up. Many of them seemed to have gone to ground. Whenever that
happened, it was a good indication that there was something very
wrong going on in the city. But it didn't help him much when it came
to stopping it. Most of the demons he knew didn't want the world to
end, but when it came to stopping it, they were only of minimal help.
Their first instinct was always to run for their lives and screw
everyone else who got left behind.

"Maybe Kate could help," suggested Wesley. "See if she's heard
anything about mystical items that have arrived here. Or have been
purchased from any of the mystical specialists in the city. If
nothing else, she can keep an eye out for anything even more
suspicious than usual."

"Good idea." Angel walked over to the phone and hit a button. Kate
was on speed dial. He looked at the clock on the wall. At this time
of the morning, she should be in her office checking the mail. After
three rings she picked up.

"Lockley Investigations."

"Kate, it's me."

"Hey Angel. How's it going?"

"Heavy. What about you?"

"Pretty routine. A few undercover jobs, nothing much. Now, is this a
social call, or are we going to get down to business?" she laughed.

"I'm not sure what I'm looking for exactly. All we know is that an
ancient vampire cult has come here. Presumably to perform a ritual.
Or to get the things they need to complete it. You heard anything
from any of your contacts?"

"Let's think." Kate flicked through her blue notepad. It was the one
she kept especially for the more unnatural cases that she handled.
Not that she did many, Angel had most of those, but sometimes one
came her way. She was a P.I. working mostly for companies who wanted
to keep tabs on suspicious employees, or for her to investigate
strange happenings at their workplace. Sometimes, these happenings
were of a demonic nature, though her clients generally did not know
that when they hired her. She always kept her ear to the ground about
matters of the occult to be on the safe side. She was even building
up a little network of informers, a thought that filled her with not
a small amount of pride. There was nothing in her notes that seemed
to be of relevance.

"Sorry Angel. I don't have anything for you. What's the timescale on
this one?"

"We're not sure yet."

"Give me a few days, and I'll put some feelers out. Okay?"

"Thanks."

"No problem. I'll give you a call if I get anything. Look after
yourself."

"Will do. Bye."

"Bye."

Angel put the receiver down and hiked his shoulders at
Wesley. "Nothing from her. But she's going to keep an eye out for us.
Hopefully she can find something more useful than what we've been
able to get our hands on so far."

*****

"Hey guys, I'm outta here!" Faith bounded down the stairs. Cordelia
looked up from her desk.

"You look nice. A bit overdressed for patrol aren't you?"

"That's coz I have a date." Faith waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Another one? That's three this week."

"I'm a popular girl!" she said with a laugh. Angel closed the book he
had been reading and stood up to put it back on the shelf.

"Same woman?" he asked with a smirk.

"For your information, yes."

"Sounds like it's getting serious." He winked at Cordelia, hoping
that she would take his cue to continue teasing Faith. She did. It
was always too easy.

"What do you think Angel? I think Faith's falling in love," she
finished in a singsong voice. Gunn smirked, but as he was within
arm's reach of Faith, wisely decided to stay quiet.

"Whatever." Faith rolled her eyes and slipped a stake into a discreet
pocket in her jacket. Better to be safe than sorry.

"See, she's getting all defensive. Definitely in love. Before we know
it, there'll be roses arriving at the office. How sweet." Cordelia
laughed as Faith flipped a finger at her. "Cute."

"Oh, you know I only have a place in my heart for you C." Faith
raised her hand to her chest in an exaggerated motion and pretended
to swoon.

"Okay, now you're just being gross. Get out of here before you're
late for her again."

"Damn vamps," sighed Faith. "They always seem to know when I have a
date. Page me if you need me." She blew Cordelia a kiss mockingly,
and then bounced out of the door. They all laughed and returned to
the books. Researching these robed guys was turning out to be a
difficult task. Because they had been presumed extinct for so long,
nobody had bothered to keep any real recordings of their history.
Wesley had even been forced to call Giles in England to see if there
was anything there that could be of use to them. It was proving
futile. Gunn tossed another book back onto the table.

"Guess we're not going to find anything worth paging her with
anyways."

"Probably a good thing," remarked Wesley, dryly. "She has to be
running out of excuses by now anyway."

"Yeah. Bet you have the same problem, huh Buffy?" Gunn asked. They
all looked up expectantly.

"I, erm, haven't been on a date for a long time. It's not worth the
hassle." She added by way of an explanation when she saw several sets
of raised eyebrows. She felt so set apart from them. She had stayed
silent when she watched the way the banter flowed easily between
them. The way it had been for her in the beginning with Xander and
Willow. She swallowed the lump that always formed in her throat when
she thought about her old best friend. Willow was something that was
definitely best kept at the back of her mind, especially when there
was a vampire threat as big as this one looming over them. She let
out a breath, and, as casually as she could, "So Faith is dating a
woman then?"

"Didn't you know?" Cordelia looked up surprised. "Oh, that's right.
You haven't wanted to hear a word about Faith for years. How could
you know?" the sarcasm was thinly veiled, and Angel shot her a look.

"I didn't think that would be a problem with Wil- erm, Tara and
everything." Angel had only just corrected himself in time. He kicked
himself mentally. He knew how much it could upset Buffy. In fact,
whenever they had talked over the past few years, really talked, it
had always been about Willow. It touched a nerve somewhere deep
within Buffy, and she kept it bottled up tight inside her. But every
now and then, it was bound to surface.

"It's not a problem, I guess I was surprised that's all. I always
thought she was into boys. Men, I mean."

"She wasn't even eighteen the last time you spoke to her about stuff
like that Buffy. People change. You have to try and remember that
she's a different person now. Has been for a very long time. Try to
let it go and give her a chance, okay?" Angel watched Buffy intently.
She smiled weakly at him.

"I'll give it a go." There was so much anger that she still carried
around for Faith. She wasn't even sure why any more. Whenever
something bad happened in her life, no matter how unrelated, it
somehow always seemed to make her angry with Faith. It was as if she
needed somewhere to place her anger, so she turned it on Faith and
let it seethe under her skin and in the back of her mind. Looking
back, even with Willow, she had managed to make a reference to Faith.
Having to make the spell that would allow her to get her body back
from Faith, that was the first time that Willow and Tara had tried to
perform any real magic. Dangerous magic. And when it had succeeded,
they had gone on and improved, inciting more and more dangerous
rituals. All of which Buffy had been thankful for until it was too
late and she suddenly saw what had been happening in front of her.
Until she noticed Tara's eyes were increasingly red and swollen from
nights crying. She remembered thinking then, if only they had never
had to do that spell to correct the harm that Faith had done. Deep
inside, she knew that if it had not been that, then there would have
been some other reason for Willow to step into the realms of powerful
magic, but in her conscious thoughts, it was all too easy to blame it
on Faith. She felt the tears begin to prick at her eyes, and quickly
excused herself to the bathroom before the others could see them
fall.

They all watched her go in silence, guessing what, or rather, who,
she was thinking about. It hurt them all on some level, but they knew
it was nothing compared to what Buffy must feel. Most of the details
they had only heard through the grapevine, usually from Xander, but
even he had been unwilling to talk about the more gruesome elements.
Only Angel had been told the full story, and it sickened and saddened
him. It made him think about Faith also. Even though he was proud of
her, he would always have bet that Willow had a stronger sense of
self, more willpower, an inherent good within her. It shocked him to
think how wrong they had all been. And how helpless. There were times
when nearly all of them wondered if they had at some point played a
part in her downfall, and whether there were signs that they could
have picked up on. The calls she made to that exact office for
details of rituals that she told them were necessary to fight evil in
Sunnydale. Details they were therefore only too willing to give to
her. Should they have been able to tell that there was something not
quite right by the tone of her voice? Or the fact that they had heard
nothing about this evil from any of the others? It was all too easy
to look back now and read the signs. It also made it easier to blame
themselves for their ignorance.

*****

She actually made it on time. That was a first for this relationship.
The vampires really did seem to know when she was out to have fun and
insisted on getting in her way. Tonight had been different though.
She had made it to the bar without having to get out her stake once,
though she did nearly pummel a cat that startled her in an alley on
the way there.

So she had made it on time, and from then on the evening had just got
better and better. A tequila slammer competition which, on the basis
of supernatural speed and slayer metabolism, Faith had naturally won.
Then dancing to some seriously wicked tunes and a cab back. Not to
the Hyperion, but to her girl's apartment. Faith liked going there.
It wasn't the best pad in the world, but the thing that made it nice
was the fact that it was so normal. There were no associations with
anything at all in the rest of her life. It was a safe space, a place
where she could just be Faith. At least, that was what she kept
telling herself.

"Would you like a drink?" asked Samantha from the walk in kitchen.

"Sure, whatever you're having is fine."

And that was how their night together started properly. Or would have
been if Faith could have concentrated on the matter in hand. But for
some reason, her body seemed to be separated from her mind, and as
she lay there being kissed and caressed, she remained impassive,
willing herself to feel something, but nothing came. Even her kisses
seemed mechanical to her, though Samantha didn't seem to notice.
Which was something that Faith was very grateful for. After nearly an
hour, her body refusing to become responsive on its own, Faith opted
for faking it. Convincingly apparently, from the way that Sam crawled
up her body and nestled in her arms with a satisfied smile on her
face. Faith was lost. She wanted to go home to her own room and just
be alone. But she did not want to have to face Buffy. She stared at
the ceiling and prepared for another sleepless night.

At three in the morning, Faith stole a look at the clock. She was
nowhere near sleep, and part of her was craving a good slay.
Everything seemed to be going wrong already. This relationship was
doomed to be over before it even began, all because Buffy had turned
up. Faith realised this with a sinking feeling in the pit of her
stomach. She let out an audible groan, causing Sam to stir and roll
over, out of her arms, but thankfully not wake up. What was it Angel
said about redemption again?

*****

Buffy thought about calling Xander but knew that it was too late.
Three AM social calls were not something to be undertaken lightly.
Not that he would complain, but it was hardly fair when he had a full
day of work ahead. And even though she knew he wouldn't object, she
suspected that Anya would be very vocal on the subject.

Her room at the Hyperion was nice. Simple, but all that she needed
for her short stay. She lay on the bed, listening to the occasional
car drive past outside, hating the fact that she was alone again.
Faith was out on a date. That was fair enough. But she had not even
invited her to go out with her on patrol the other nights. Not that
she wanted to go, but it would have been nice to be asked. But after
her outbursts the first few days she was here, she couldn't really
blame Faith for not asking her out, just so that the invite could be
slapped back in her face. Her icy manner since their grudging truce
hadn't helped anything either.

And then there was that little bit of emotion that was surprising her.

Blond she was. Blind, no way. Back in Sunnydale, she had known that
Faith was chatting her up. She had seen that look in the eyes of all
the boys that she had dated. Seen that look in Angel's eyes as well.
At the time she had told herself it was nothing more than a crush
from someone who really understood what it was like to be a Slayer,
and admired her for the successful job that she was doing.

Now, she was aware that it might not have been a crush at all. Not
some phase that girls supposedly often went through. It struck Buffy
that Faith had always known her own mind, so why she hadn't realised
that she could be just as definite on this issue seemed ridiculous in
hindsight. Now it was just making her uncomfortable, and she wanted
to leave as soon as possible. She had caught the look in Faith's
eyes, just the once, that seemed to tell her that the spark might
still be there. And she did not want to lead her on, give her some
false sense of hope by hanging around in L.A. for any longer than was
absolutely necessary. It seemed like a fair and sensible way of
reasoning to her.

So, if that was the logical way of thinking, why on earth was she
lying there with the overwhelming urge to say sorry to Faith? To give
her a hug and admit that she had been wrong. If she really didn't
care that much then why was she always thinking about her and
everything that they had ever done together. It didn't make sense.
Every one else seemed to be able to forgive her, and deep down, Buffy
could see why. Faith had changed beyond all recognition. There were
things still very much the same, like the way that Faith oozed sex
and used it to her advantage. The teasing and smutty sense of humour.
But now Faith was quietly confident, not having to be loud and brash
to prove a point. This more humble Faith was definitely a more
attractive character. But whenever Buffy looked into those chocolate
brown eyes, she was taken on a swift ride back to the past, and that
was not a happy place. There was nothing that she could even do to
fight it, the instinct and fear. Some deep-seated sense of
self-preservation took over. Faith had hurt her so many times before;
there was no way that she was going to be vulnerable again.

She got out of bed, restless, and fiddled with the air conditioning,
just for something to do. She had one ear open for Faith's return,
though she knew with a sinking feeling that she would not be
returning tonight. Faith would probably spend the night at her
lover's apartment and return the next day, glowing with sex, and with
that smile on her face that told everyone where she had been and what
she had done. Buffy could feel her guts coil inwards with an old
familiar feeling.

As she got into bed and turned out the lights, she finally remembered
where she had felt it before. Much to her dismay, it was something
that she believed she would never feel in regard to Faith.

Jealousy.

*****

The search was a fruitless as ever. They had been through the same
books time and time again, hoping to find something that they had
missed on the previous occasion. All the references were obscure
enough to be rendered virtually useless, and Giles had informed them
that there was little more that the council knew. Simply that there
was a series of rituals that needed to be performed before the real
drama began. But why they had chosen L.A. was still a complete
mystery, and how close they were coming to the deadline seemed to be
an increasing worry. Angel had insisted they put as many cases as
they could on hold for a while, so that they could concentrate the
better part of their energies to defeating this particular problem.
Slaying had become a matter of 'go out, grab whatever you can and get
back'. The frustrations were starting to show on the gang as well.
Cordelia had hit Wesley over the back of the head with a particularly
hefty fifteenth-century book when he had asked her if she was going
to get round to one of those 'nifty little visions,' asking him if
*he* liked the pain. This had been followed by a snort by Faith, who
had the good grace to hide her amusement when Cordelia shot her a
death stare. Faith knew better to play with the pros.

But despite that light relief, things were beginning to wear them
down. They were starting to give up all hope when the telephone rang.
Assuming that it was a potential client, Cordy answered the phone.

"Angel Investigations, we help the hopeless."

"Cordy. It's me."

"Hey Kate! Please tell me that you have something useful before we
all kill each other."

"Do you want the good news first, or the better news?"

"Sounds promising. What have you got?" Cordelia grinned at the
others, giving them the thumbs up.

"Contact of mine says he had some vamps come in his store, looking
for some ancient relic. He knew enough to say that he hadn't got it,
but directed them to a place up town. From what I gather, he was
saved by the fact that a group of Shalek demons chose to come in at
that point. Otherwise the vamps would have probably killed him
anyway."

"So he told them where they could get the things they need for their
ritual?" Cordy started to panic.

"Relax Cordy. He had them in his store all along. They are now in
hiding and he won't even tell me where they are. He's gone into
hiding himself. Apparently they need a cup of, hold on," Kate checked
her notes, "a cup of Cheregon. That's what it sounds like, not sure
how it's spelt. He was in a bit of a hurry when I spoke to him. But
at least it has made it harder for them to perform the ritual. They
have to wait until the next station of the moon, or something like
that. I think that was what he said."

"Thank God. So what's the better news?"

"You are going to love this. There appears to be a nest. From what I
can gather these vamps are pretty old, so they sound like they could
be your guys. They are living just outside the city limits, on the
edge of the desert. There's a shack at Pine Creek that might be the
place." Over the line, Kate could hear Cordelia scribbling down the
name on the legal pad that she kept by the phone.

"That's great news. Thanks Kate."

"Hey no problem. All part of the service. Speaking of which, how much
are you going to pay me?" she laughed.

"We don't pay cash but the favour can be returned at your leisure,"
responded Cordelia with a returning laugh. This was the break that
they had all been waiting for. She hung up the phone, and turned on
her heel. "Good news guys," she said with a huge grin.

*****

As Cordy passed on the news, Buffy began to formulate a plan. She
suspected that the others would come up with something along the same
lines. A shack in a deserted area made the job much easier for them.
The best thing they could do was attack by daylight, forcing as many
of them out into the sun as possible. There was also the element of
surprise that they could use to the fullest effect. The one thing
that they knew for certain about these vampires was their age. Well,
not specifically, but Buffy thought it stood to reason that the older
ones were more traditional, and would probably stick to the ritual of
sleeping through the sunlit hours. If they could attack then, it
would be perfect, and their advantage might make up for the fact that
Angel obviously couldn't be part of the plan. She began churning
these thoughts over in her mind while the others talked excitedly
about gathering weapons. One thing they all agreed on though, was the
sooner the better, and tomorrow was as good a day as any. She
silently slipped out of the room as Cordelia picked up the phone to
call Faith and let her know the good news.

*****

"Hey Buff! Good to hear from you."

"Still holding up on the hellmouth for me Xander?"

"You bet! I think all the badstuff followed you to L.A. Which is a
good thing believe me. I'm feeling a little tired, if you get my
drift."

"Not just work related?" Buffy said with a chuckle.

"Believe me, that doesn't help. I'm working nine to five to sort out
all these orders, go home, shower, perform on demand, and then patrol
looking for undead creatures of the night. Buffy come back," he broke
down in mock sobs.

"Anya still working you hard then?"

"I just wish she'd just get pregnant already. She's starting to get
snippy. Our entire life is comprised of charts and temperatures and
ovulation cycles. And she can't even blame me any more."

"You of the above average sperm count."

"Don't mock my manhood slayer."

"Wouldn't dream of it. Have you ever mentioned the theory of trying
too hard to her?"

"Oh, believe me, I've tried. She didn't get it. In fact, she insisted
that we try harder."

"Not good."

"I don't know if I can take much more of this. If we ever have a baby
I swear I'll hate it for the suffering it caused me -" he broke off
as the door to his office slammed open and Anya walked in. He groaned
quietly into the other end of the phone and Buffy chuckled.

"Xander it's time!" she waved the thermometer in front of his face as
if to prove a point. The fact that the air conditioning was on, and
it appeared to show that Anya was positively at room temperature no
longer phased Xander.

"Anya, honey, I'm on the phone."

"Well, get off. I need you to impregnate me now. Or we'll have to
wait another month."

"Buffy, am I so glad you're not a client. I have to go and impregnate
my wife, if you'll excuse me." He said with a mock serious tone.

"Go, you man, you!" she laughed down the phone. "Talk to you later.
Oh, and good luck!"

"Thank you. See ya Buff," he said with the gentle affection of years
of friendship. Buffy was still laughing when she hung up the receiver.

"So what's up B?" Faith's voice came from over her shoulder. She
turned around to see that the brunette had returned to work, a tired
look on her face.

"Just catching up with Xander. Rough day at work?" Buffy squeezed the
words out with an over-bright smile, her earlier conversation with
Angel fresh in her mind.

"Yeah." Faith eyed Buffy suspiciously as she crossed the lobby. The
blond hadn't had a good word to say to her since she arrived in L.A.
Not that Faith gave a shit any more. She had given up making things
right with Buffy a long time ago. She felt sorry for her after
everything that had happened with Red, but Buffy didn't need her
sympathy. Now she genuinely seemed to be at least trying to appear
interested, but Faith was more than a little reluctant to let the
guard down straight away. She decided to play along for a
while. "Some kid came to the shelter. Didn't know it was there
before, yunno. Just wanted a bed for the night. You should have seen
him B," she threw herself down on the couch with a sigh. "I don't
think he'd eaten anything for weeks. He knocked back three
cheeseburgers that I'd got for my lunch then threw them straight back
up again. Body couldn't handle it. Poor kid. Too young for that kind
of messed up shit."

"How old was he?" Buffy crossed the room and sat down sideways on the
couch, facing Faith, unable to keep herself distant from the anguish
that had somehow slipped into Faith's voice.

"He said he was eighteen, but they all say that. Means we don't have
to report them or anything. I'd say he was about fifteen. Remember
when you were fifteen B? Imagine not having those super powers to
help you out." Faith shook her head, obviously feeling the boy's
pain. She hated this part of her job. The bit where she came home and
still felt the hurt that they were going through. Hated to see kids
being ruined before their lives had even really begun. And the thing
that she would not admit to anyone. The suffering that seeing them
there always brought back to her. The memories of what it was like to
have to fend for yourself, to just want somewhere safe to go, with
someone who would take all the pain away, and let you get a good
nights sleep and enough food to take away the ache in your stomach.
She knew what it was like to need somebody. Now she had the
responsibility of being that person, of taking that pain and
suffering. She did it gladly.

"I can't imagine what it would be like. The closest I get is the time
when I ran away. After," she swallowed, "killing Angel. Ran away to
here. Strange. Did Anne tell you how we knew each other?"

"No, she said to ask you about it. I guess you saved her life at some
point huh?"

"Kinda. Do you um, want to know?" Buffy looked at the tired
expression of Faith's face and thought she might not want to hear
another story like those she had spent the day dealing with.

"Sure B." Faith was craving a cigarette, but still couldn't bring
herself to light up in front of Buffy. Instead, she made began making
herself a cup of coffee, settling for a blood rush of another kind.
Doing something also meant that she didn't have to look to long at
Buffy, hands ever so slightly shaking.

"Well, I came here. I needed to be away from Sunnydale, away from
being a slayer. I couldn't handle it anymore. I wanted to be alone so
much. I stopped using the name Buffy, knowing that it would be too
easy for Giles to find me. I used my middle name, because it's so
popular. I got a job as a waitress. All anyone knew about me was that
my name was Anne." Buffy paused and watched as Faith turned her head
and raised her eyebrows questioningly, as she began to guess where
the story was heading. "I met Lily, er, I mean Anne, and she needed
my help. She remembered me from Sunnydale. I'd helped her there as
well. She was the one who made me come home. She made me remember
that there were people who needed me. I decided to go back to
Sunnydale. She was going to stay here. But she was so alone. So
weak." Buffy laughed at the look of disbelief on Faith's face as she
came back to join her at the table. "It's true, I promise. She'd had
so many identities in her life, she didn't even know who she was any
more. So when I left, she became Anne. I gave her my name and my job."

"You're saying that she took your personality on?"

"Oh no, she just took my name, really. The rest of it came from her.
She just needed to see that she could do it. That she had the
strength inside her. There's more to the story, but that's hers to
tell you."

"Oh." Faith seemed lost in thought for a second before she noticed
that Buffy was staring quizzically at her. "It's nothing I guess."

"You must have been thinking about something," smiled Buffy,
temporarily forgetting that she was still supposed to be angry with
Faith for reasons that she could no longer even really remember.

"Well..." Faith stole another glance at Buffy. They hadn't opened up
to each other like this since the time they used to go patrolling
together just after she had first arrived in Sunnydale. It felt nice
though. "It's just that Anne and I get on really well yunno. But
there never seemed to be much of you in there. Does that make sense?
I mean, I think I know her better than anyone else."

"I thought she and Gunn went way back?"

"They do. I mean, all the others have known her for way longer than I
have, but we work together. We talk and stuff..." Faith trailed off.

"And stuff?"

"We kind of dated for a while." Faith said it quietly, but trying to
sound offhand, not really knowing how Buffy would react. Willow and
Tara were one thing, but she didn't know whether or not Buffy would
make the same exception for her.

"Oh..."

"It wasn't meant to be. She just knew about all the things that went
bump in the night, and knew what a vampire slayer was. Looking back,
I never thought to ask how she knew. Guess it all makes sense now.
She was someone who understood. That was what I needed at the time.
But it was never going to work."

"Why?"

"The same reason why most couples don't work. It just wasn't meant to
be. It only lasted a few months anyway. And we're good friends now.
That's more important to me."

"What about this new woman?" Buffy found she was having to swallow as
a lump suddenly formed in her throat. She continued, aiming for what
she hoped was the same conversational tone. "Does she know about you?"

"Not yet. Though if I have to bail on her one more time I think she's
going to end it all. But I know it would be too much for her to deal
with. She'd just think I was some psycho and finish with me anyway. I
guess I'll just ride it out until it's over. Another one bites the
dust."

"It sucks, doesn't it?" said Buffy with a low laugh. Faith looked up
at her.

"Sure does."

The smile held for a few seconds before the sound of footsteps made
them both turn their heads. It was Angel, looking even more tense
than usual, the frown that creased his forehead marring his eternally
youthful skin. "Preparing for tomorrow?"

"Kinda," smiled Faith.

"I just wish I was going with you." The frustration was clear in his
voice. He hated the thought of them going off into battle without
him, even though he knew that were both more than capable of looking
after themselves when it came to taking out a vamp nest. "So what's
the plan?"

"I guess Faith and I will go in first, break down the door and get
what we can. Then the others can come in as back up and get to the
ones that manage to avoid the sun."

"Sounds like as good a plan as any," Angel nodded.

"It works. We've done it before." Buffy looked over at Faith. The
tension filled the room once more. Faith stood up abruptly, unable to
sit there any longer.

"Well, I guess I have an early night then. Could be a busy day
tomorrow." She wasn't tired at all, in fact, she was feeling kind of
wired, but she needed some more time to herself. She had made some
progress with Buffy at last, and wanted to get out before her luck
could change. "Good Night."

"Night," said Buffy, taking one last look at Faith as she headed out
of the room. She knew that she ought to get some sleep as well. After
all, they had no idea just how many vamps they would find tomorrow.
The fight could be a long and bloody one, especially if everything
didn't go to plan. After all the years as the Slayer, Buffy liked to
prepare for every eventuality.

But she knew that if she went to bed now, she would just spend hours
tossing and turning, and that would leave her feeling much worse in
the morning. "I think I'm going to go out for a quick patrol. Nothing
heavy, just get any stragglers that are out there." She stood up and
walked to the door. "I'll see you in the morning," she said in a tone
that said she did not need Angel to make any further comment. He
understood, and let her leave the building. He knew that she was
finally facing up to a lot of things she had spent years denying to
herself. He could tell by the way she had changed demeanour in the
space of the week that she was starting to confront some of her
darkest demons. He was convinced that she and Faith had not been
talking about their plans for tomorrow when he had come into the
room. And if they were talking about things on a more personal level,
then that was fine by him.

Cordelia realised that it was early, but she didn't care. She knew
that Anne usually arrived at the shelter before dawn, so it wouldn't
be a problem if she turned up unannounced.

Normally, when there was a crusade against evil, she just went along
without really questioning the implications. She knew all about The
Powers That Be - she was, after all, the earthly link with them. They
would not let her die until it was her time, the moment when she was
destined to go to...wherever it was she would go to. That was another
part of the job that she did not want to think about too closely, but
somehow fear never got the better of her.

Last night though, she had a strange sense of foreboding. It was
nothing like a vision, nothing that intense, more of a queasy feeling
of unease in the pit of her stomach. She could just be suffering from
an unexpected bout of PMS, but either way, it was an uncanny how it
coincided with the impending evil. She had tried to dismiss it - all
her friends would be there anyway, fighting alongside her. All except
one. That was when, lying in bed trying to sleep despite her worry,
she had made up her mind to come to the shelter the next day before
they set off.

She knocked briefly on the half open door and stepped into the
office. As she had guessed, Anne was already there, making a 'things
to do' list.

"Hey. Ready to face the big day?" she smiled. Cordelia could not help
but notice that she looked a little anxious as well.

"How did you know?"

"Faith called. She needed to take the time off to do whatever it is
you are going to do. I never ask details. But she did mention that
you would be going with her."

"Oh." Cordy felt slightly stupid. It made sense that Faith would have
called and let Anne know what was going on.

"I was hoping that you would come here first though." Anne looked
back down at her list, making it impossible for Cordelia to read her
face.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Just in case..." she trailed off, unwilling to give voice to
the thought.

"Well, that's why I'm here I guess. Just in case."

"I'm sure everything will work out fine. It always does."

"It can't always." Cordelia did not want anyone to know about the
sinking feeling she still had. Her legs were shaking slightly as she
sat down on the couch while Anne got up and put some coffee on.

"I take it you've time for one before you head off?"

"Please. That would be wonderful. I need the caffeine rush to keep me
on my toes," she laughed, "in case I have to look after Wes."

"In that case, I'll make it *strong*!"

They sat there in silence while Anne finished making the coffee, both
waiting for the other to speak first. Finally, Anne picked up the two
steaming mugs and joined Cordelia on the couch. Cordelia accepted the
mug with a smile, holding it as if she were trying to warm her hands.
It did, indeed, make her feel better, provided her with some small
sense of comfort on a psychological level.

"So why were you hoping that I would come to see you?" Cordelia
finally asked the question. She was only half-surprised when Anne
looked down, her coffee apparently becoming the most interesting
thing that she had ever seen.

"You're my friend," she said simply. She wondered if she should
continue, but her thoughts wouldn't seem to organise themselves in
her brain. There were several things that she wanted to say, but she
was not sure if this was the time and the place for things like that.
She cursed herself for always getting emotionally attached to the
wrong people. Take Faith for example. There was a good chance that if
she told Cordy how she felt, then all she would get in return would
be a terse smile and a polite brush off. Sure, they had been friendly
for a long time, and the other night was filled with gentle flirting,
but it was no more than she had ever seen when Faith and Cordy were
together. And there was nothing going on there, well, at least not as
far as she knew. So she could have been reading far too much into a
simple friendship. "I worry about you." It was a lame ending and she
knew it.

"Thank you." Cordelia shuffled along the couch and closed the
distance between them. "That means a lot to me," somehow her voice
had become husky and thick with unspoken emotion as she pulled Anne
into a hug. A hug that lasted a little too long, but there was
something reassuring about the way that Anne allowed her hand to roam
up and down Cordelia's back. They pulled back an inch, arms still
wrapped around each other, while each searched the others' eyes for
something. "I'll be careful, I promise." Cordelia's voice was still a
whisper as she closed her eyes and leaned forward. She placed a kiss
on Anne's cheek, but it was a parody of her actions a few nights
earlier. This time, the gesture of friendship was laden with feeling,
and Cordelia stayed there, feeling Anne's skin, soft against her own
cheek, for what seemed like the longest time. She opened her eyes,
and realised that Anne was trembling ever so slightly within the
circle of her arms.

She pulled back, skin moving against skin, so slowly that Anne's face
gradually began to form in the periphery of her vision. When she was
certain that Anne had no intention of pulling away from her grasp,
she repeated the gesture, her stomach coiling in anticipation, but
this time on Anne's lips rather than her cheek. Just the gentlest of
brushes as their lips met, before fear overcame her again, and she
hesitantly drew back. She could not disguise the surprise that
flickered across her face as she realised that Anne's arms were still
firm around her waist. She stood still, staring ahead, as Anne leaned
forward and returned the kiss to her cheek, repeating the gentle
movement. As she pulled back, their eyes met again, and without
waiting any longer, Anne leaned in once more, placing her lips
against Cordelia's, firmer this time, and holding them there longer,
uncertain as to whether or not to pull away.

The decision was made for her as Cordelia's tongue flicked out almost
involuntarily, and the tip brushed her lips. The electricity it
caused to flow through Anne's body made her gasp, a sharp intake of
breath that seemed to fill her mouth with the taste of Cordelia's lip
gloss and the lingering hint of bitter coffee. Then her head was
tipping back, her eyes flickering closed as she returned the hesitant
intimacy, slowly becoming bolder until the kiss deepened, tongues
gently probing new found spaces, light-headedness replacing all other
thoughts.

Slowly, reluctantly, Cordelia pulled back, as a small voice at the
back of her mind reminded her that she had places to be. The rest of
her mind screamed that this was the only place that she wanted to be,
rest of the world be damned. She opened her mouth to say something,
when there was a sharp knock on the office door. They both sprang
back, nervousness kicking in, as the door opened.

"Anne, sorry to interrupt, but there's a delivery here. They want you
to sign for it."

"Thanks Tommy. I'll be right there."

"'K." The boy pulled the door closed behind his retreating head.

"I'd better go too," said Cordelia with forced brightness. "Places to
be, demons to slay," she realised that she was close to babble,
something which Cordelia Chase never sank to. Anne reached out to her
and it promptly shut her up.

"Look after yourself. Promise." The voice was insistent, demanding.

"I promise."

"Call me later. I think we need to talk." Anne reached up and placed
another kiss firmly on Cordelia's lips. "I'll be thinking about you.
Good luck."

*****

"Okay." Buffy let out a deep breath as she talked the plan through
yet again. "Faith and I will go up ahead. When we give you the
signal, you guys leave the car and follow us up."

"Sure thing," shrugged Gunn. "You gonna tell us what the signal is?"

"Us kicking the door down." Buffy's voice was grim, her face set with
determination. Faith just fiddled with a strand of loose cotton
dangling from the sleeve of her jacket. "Let's get this over and done
with."

"Be careful," Wesley said quietly. He watched as the other two nodded
their thanks and, using the sparse bushes for cover, made their way
in the direction of the shack. The chances of there being a look out
were slim, they couldn't be expecting anyone to find them all this
way outside of town, but it was better to be careful and make sure
that their job wasn't any harder than it needed to be. They had no
idea how many vampires were inside, so the more things that were to
their advantage, the better.

They crouched by a bush ten feet away from the house, surveying it
more closely now that they could see it in detail. As they had
expected, the windows were boarded up sturdily, making it difficult
to guarantee that they would be able to get any sunlight through
them. They hadn't really believed it was an option, but, as always,
they had hoped.

"What do you think B?"

"I wish there was some way in other than that door."

"We could try around the back, see if there was another way in." She
paused, and swallowed, almost nervously. "Um, are we certain that
this is the place?"

"Who else would live like this?" Buffy wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"True. I, erm, kind of made a back up plan." Faith stumbled over the
words. It seemed from the outset as if Buffy had taken more control
than she had. Faith first had the idea the night before, but, for
some reason she couldn't quite fathom, had held back from voicing it.

"Back up plan?" Buffy was mildly surprised. Trapped by her
stereotyping as always, she now realised it had not crossed her mind
that Faith might actually have been able to formulate a plan,
especially one that could rival her own.

"Well, we're in the middle of nowhere right? And that's a boarded up
wood shack filled with who knows how many vamps. We could go in
there, have a rumble, risk our own lives, or we could take the two
tanks of gas that I put in my trunk this morning and torch the place.
No one is going to see us, and chances are no one is even going to
care that an abandoned place is burning to the ground." She stopped
and looked closely at Buffy. Part of her was seeking approval, the
other part knew it was an easy alternative with a much greater chance
of success.

The plan was obvious. Simple. Not the kind of dramatic antics that
Buffy still expected from Faith. It was such a good idea, she
couldn't quite believe that neither Angel nor herself had come up
with it. All they had to do was scoot around the place and check for
signs of humanity, then stand back and be rid of them. It was such a
bizarrely good plan, she had the urge to hug Faith. Of course, she
stopped herself in time, but still could not prevent the huge grin
spreading across her face. Faith saw it and grinned in return.

"Let's have a look around and make sure there are no people in there.
I don't think that there are, but I want to be certain. Then we'll go
back to the car and tell the others."

*****

"What's taking them so long?" Wesley glanced at his watch for the
fourteenth time since Buffy and Faith had left them standing by the
car. He had watched until their backs had disappeared behind some
scrub. For ten minutes now, he had been waiting for them to emerge,
his stake poised and muscles tensed ready for the sprint to the shack.

"Faith and Buffy?" snorted Gunn. "Last time I heard, their version of
making out included weapons and blood loss."

"Are you kidding?" Cordelia waved her stake exasperatedly. "All that
tension between them? There is no way that is all non-sexual.
Besides, you never saw them together before Faith went AWOL to the
dark side." She felt a surprise pang of jealousy as she remembered
the events of that morning, as she thought of Anne and Faith together.

"Is that right Wes?" Gunn was more than a little disbelieving. Sure,
Faith having the hots for Buffy made sense, Faith had the hots for
anything cute in a skirt. But Buffy? No chance. Was there?

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Translation: they wanted each other bad.
Now they are back in the same place at the same time, believe me, we
can just sit back and watch the tension grow. One of them will
explode sooner or later."

"Fascinating as this conversation is," Wesley tried hard not to show
his discomfort at the thought of Buffy or Faith exploding, separately
or together, "don't you think we should be concentrating on the
matter in hand? What do you think that they are doing?"

"I think we covered that one already..."

*****

Signs of human life were negligible, signs of human death, palpable.
The stench of rotting flesh made its way into the Slayers' nostrils
as they made their way to the back of the shack. Even if the place
had a human rather than vampire occupier, then at least they would be
getting rid of another serial killer. Either way, it made Faith's
plan the best option that they had. They both wrinkled their noses at
each other in silent agreement and made their way back round the
front.

"Change of plan," Faith said to the three astonished faces waiting
for them. She went to the back of the car and opened the trunk,
picking up one can of gas for herself and handing the other one to
Buffy. "We're going to torch the place instead."

"It's Faith's plan," explained Buffy with a hint of a smile at her
fellow Slayer. "We needed to check the place out first."

"Come on," Faith was aware of a slight blush forming on the top of
her cheeks at Buffy's acknowledgement. It was not something that she
wanted to share with the others when it turned into full-scale
rosiness. "Let's get this over with. I got a million better things I
could be doing." She marched off in the direction of the shack, not
even bothering to try and be inconspicuous. Screwing the top off the
can, she began sloshing it liberally over the front door, effectively
sealing off the vampires only exit once the place started to go up.
Buffy followed suit, coating the walls and trying hard not to inhale
the fumes. They met again at the front door, empty cans in both hands.

"Erm, Faith. This was a great plan and everything, but how are we
going to light it?"

"With this." Faith put her hand into her jacket, narrowly avoided
pulling out her box of cigarettes, and grabbed the matches
instead. "You want to go back to the guys? This is gonna go up pretty
fast."

"Will you be ok?"

"Sure. Growing up, I set fire to a lot of things," Faith's tone was
unreadable, but Buffy hoped she was being sarcastic. Though, knowing
Faith...

"Okay then, I'll see you back at the car. Erm, be careful." Without
waiting for the smile that Faith sent her way, she turned on her heel
and broke into a brisk run back to the car.

Faith turned back to the building, judging the distance she needed.
The smell of the fumes was almost overpowering as the gas vaporised
in the desert heat. She lit the match, thankful for the lull in the
breeze, and waited for it to burn down halfway, rolling the wood
between her thumb and forefinger. Suddenly she flicked her wrist, and
backed away as the flame touched the damp wooden step. "So long,
suckers," she muttered, half under her breath. Then she felt the
sudden blast of heat as the ignition spread, and began to run back to
the where the others were waiting. By the time that she got there,
the entire front of the building was ablaze, and screams were
beginning to come from the inside. Suddenly the door was flung open,
and several figures came running out.

As their robes caught the flames that licked the building, they began
to burn. A few steps further into the daylight made them disintegrate
completely.

*****

The journey back was filled with whoops of victory, and frequent
congratulations were sent Faith's way. She accepted them with good
grace, and refused to take full responsibility for the plan.
Apparently it was something that she had seen in an Angelina Jolie
movie a few years ago. But when Buffy looked at her with a smile that
almost hinted at something along the lines of "well done," Faith felt
her composure collapsing around her as if she was seventeen again.
She had to keep looking out of the window to hide her grin from the
others.

*****

Angel was pacing nervously, waiting for the remaining shards of sun
to set, when they walked through the door, victory written clearly
across their faces.

"You did it! Anybody hurt?"

"Faith's jacket has a slight singeing around the sleeves, but other
than that, nope." Buffy smiled at him and his obvious confusion. "Her
idea. Why fight when you can just burn the whole place down and let
nature do the work for you."

"And we didn't think of this before because?"

"I think," laughed Wesley, "we overcomplicated things a little.
Faith's plan worked along the lines of a rather beautiful simplicity."

"Look guys, I keep telling you, it was nothin'." Faith shrugged out
of her jacket and threw it carelessly down on the coffee table in the
middle of the room. "But I think I might blow off patrol anyways."

"Good idea." Wesley was clearly caught up in the ease of
victory. "But I think that this calls for a celebration nonetheless.
Anybody else want to 'hit the town'?"

"I'm in," Gunn thrust his hands into the pockets of his jeans and
headed for the door.

"Me too. You can tell me all about it." Angel grabbed his coat from
the stand and began to put it on, while Faith simply shook her head,
feigning tiredness. "You coming Cordy? Fred's at the library."

"No I think I might go over to tell Anne the good news." Several sets
of eyebrows rose quizzically. Then simultaneously looked at the
telephone. Only Faith continued looking at Cordelia. The woman
obviously had something in mind. Faith wasn't sure what it was, but
realised enough to know that backing her up certainly wouldn't hurt.

"Good plan Cordy, say hi to Anne for me." She said it with a smile,
effectively ending the subject. As the others continued to get ready
to go, none of them noticed the smile of gratitude that Cordelia
sent. "You going with them too B?"

"No I think I might just have an early night. I'm not really in the
mood for patrolling either."

"Take it easy guys," Gunn made his way out. As the others followed
him, the three girls stared uneasily at each other, lost to some
degree in their own discomfort that stood totally apart from the
events of the day.

*****

Faith kicked off her boots as soon as she walked into her room, and
reached inside her jacket for her cigarettes. She had somehow managed
to survive all day without having one, even after the adrenalin rush
of their victory. As she lit the match, she automatically began to
mull over the days events. Why had she been so happy when Buffy
praised her for the plan she had? It was nothing special, no need for
blue prints or strategic moves. In fact, Faith had been genuinely
surprised that none of them had thought about it earlier.

But for them, fighting evil was in many ways a war, and they
approached it like a war. For her it was different, it was a job to
be done, and the most important thing about that was staying alive.
Self-restraint was a way of life for her now, and that meant that she
thought in those terms all the time. She would never go any further
than she had too, except in those occasional dark moments still, when
the fight overwhelmed her and somehow became her whole world. Then,
only thoughts of her friends blunted her recklessness, and kept her
safe and alive. Luckily, those times were few and far between now,
but she knew that they were there. They would always be there - it
was just in her nature.

She pulled off her top and threw it carelessly in the general
direction of the closet. As she inhaled from her cigarette, her other
hand carelessly traced the pattern of the tattoo on her arm. It was
starting to fade now, ever so slightly, and like her, it no longer
bore stark defiance against the rest of her arm. Another reminder of
the wild child she had been, the thing that she did not want to be
again.

A knock on the door brought her quickly out of her thoughts. Fred
must be back. Whenever she spent late nights at the library she would
always, at Faith's insistence, check in with her so Faith knew she
had got home safely.

"Come in," Faith didn't even look up from where she was staring out
of the window, not giving a damn that she was topless. As far as she
saw it, the rats in the alley below could look all they want, and any
people that were there probably needed all the cheering up that they
could get. Fred had seen far more interesting things in her lifetime
to be bothered by Faith's nudity or any other woman's any more.

"Hi." The voice was not Fred's, and Faith spun round, torn between
covering up her body and stubbing out the cigarette that she was
still holding. In her panic, she did neither successfully. With no
clothes within easy reach, she brought her arm up to cover her
breasts, unfortunately for her, it was the same one which had the
hand holding the cigarette attached to it.

"I made some cocoa," explained Buffy, finding the picture above
Faith's bed fascinating suddenly, "I thought you might want a cup as
well." Without looking, she extended the cup in Faith's general
direction. Wisely, Faith took the time to grab a tank top from the
floor and pulled it over her head, before flicking the remains of her
cigarette out of the window.

"Thanks," she said gruffly, taking the mug out of Buffy's hand.

"No problem." Buffy finally made eye contact with her. "It's been a
long day, and well, with everything..." she trailed off, uncertain of
what to say. Would Faith guess why she was here? It was another one
of those nights. Those times when she felt almost unbearably lonely.
When she needed to be with someone. Sure, she knew that she could
call up any number of people, even make an international call to
Giles in England, but it was not the same. Just a disembodied voice
coming down the phone line, it was something that always seem to make
Buffy realise just how alone she was, rather than act as some kind of
comfort.

No, she needed company. When she was in the kitchen making herself a
warm drink, she had heard Cordelia leave. Not that they had much to
say to each other after all this time, nothing more than superficial
conversation, but Buffy liked to at least have it as an option. The
loneliness was increasing, becoming intense to the point of despair,
and as Buffy's hand spooned cocoa into a second mug, she knew that
she would go and see Faith. Right now, someone who had been her worst
enemy for so long was turning out to be her sole source of comfort.
It was something that disturbed her; a week spending time with Faith,
and she was already starting to forgive her. There was some
rebellious part of her that was ignoring everything that her brain
was saying, all those things about being strong, about never
forgetting. It even told her to think about Riley, something that she
avoided doing on most occasions for obvious reasons, just to try to
fuel that anger. But still, there was something deeper that was
reluctantly beginning to see Faith for the person she was now, and
forgetting the person that she had been all those years ago.

Over the past week, while they had been researching, Buffy had found
herself watching Faith. Her easy interaction with the others, her
quiet self-confidence. That was the thing that had moved her the
most. Faith knew who she was, the good and the bad, and made no
apologies for the fact. She no longer sought her approval, something
that had been obvious in Sunnydale all those years ago. Maybe if
Buffy had been more willing then...she had let the thought trail off
as she added milk to the powder and stirred slowly, starting to
concentrate a little too hard on the task in hand, just to keep her
mind away from where that thought was leading.

Steeling herself for the time ahead, Buffy had picked up the cups and
made her way to Faith's room. Listening for a few seconds outside the
door, she had realised that there was no sound inside, and wondered
if Faith was already asleep. Glancing at the crack under the door,
she had seen a faint light coming through, and decided to knock,
something that was quite difficult when you were carrying two boiling
hot cups, even if you were a Slayer.

Now she was watching Faith move around, adjusting lights and trying
to hide the fact that she was cleaning up discarded clothes from the
floor. Buffy looked around the room, Faith's room; her place, her
space. There were a few photographs tacked to the walls, one of her
and Cordelia in what appeared to be a tequila slammer competition,
one of Angel on the karaoke stage at Lorne's bar, a group photo of
them all grinning into the camera, one where Faith appeared to be
picking up Gunn with just one hand. And over on the closet door, a
picture she remembered Angel taking. She had been only seventeen, her
eyes were still bright, flickering with the candles that Angel had
littered around the mansion. A Nuevo-riche couple lived there now,
the place no longer felt the same. This was the inane thought that
went through Buffy's head as she stared at the younger version of
herself. Angel must have given it to Faith at some point.

She glanced back at Faith, who was now standing with her hands
clasped together in front of her body. Buffy couldn't tell whether
she was welcome or not, but for some reason, Faith appeared to be
nervous. She fleetingly wondered if Faith ever brought her lovers back
here. Understanding the unease, Buffy decided to take pity on her as
best as she could.

"It's your room. You can smoke if you want."

"Thanks," Faith let out a breath she hadn't realised she was holding.

*****

Anne's glance kept flicking towards the door as she sorted bedding
for a new kid who had made his way to the shelter. Battered, beaten,
she knew that she should give him her full attention. Yet she had one
eye on the door, one ear listening out for the phone. She was so
experienced in this routine, the taking care of the needy, that no
one noticed that she was a tiny bit distracted. Since that morning,
she had been thinking things through, the obvious attraction that
existed between the two of them, what it meant and where it could go,
and just where had it started. Faith had been in prison when they
first met, which meant that it was at least a lifetime ago. Her
stomach had been tight with terror all day, wondering what their
relationship, if it did indeed come to that, would hold, and praying
to whatever God in whatever dimension that Cordy would be kept safe.
She knew that Cordelia would be the second line of fire, something
that she was grateful for. She trusted Faith to protect her friends,
even protect Buffy if she had to, no matter how horrible Buffy had
been to her over the years. And it was that belief that had got her
through the day at the shelter and stopped her from jumping in the
car and heading out to the desert to lend a hand.

So when the door finally opened to reveal Cordelia rather than one of
the kids residing at the shelter, the relief that washed through
Anne's body was almost too much to bare. She found herself almost
running to the door, absently wondering when she had started to care
this much, and threw her arms around the woman, not caring as
everyone in the TV room looked on.

"Your safe!"

"Of course I am silly," laughed Cordelia, returning the hug
tightly. "Everything went well, look, not even a scratch." She pulled
out of Anne's grasp with a smile and did a twirl to prove her point.

"What happened?"

"Well," Cordy looked over Anne's shoulder at a scruffy young boy who
was hovering by the couch in the main room. "Why don't you finish
what you were doing here while I go and put some coffee on, and then
we can talk all about it."

"OK." Anne glanced over her shoulder in the boy's direction, and her
caring instinct once again took over. "You know where everything is
in my office, don't you? I'll be finished in ten." She smiled again,
unable to stop the relief returning with force. She watched as
Cordelia smiled back at her, and then made her way through the
half-open door that lead into her office. Then Anne turned around, and
forced herself to focus on the one person who really needed her
attention more than anyone else.

Cordelia put the coffee on and then wondered aimlessly around the
room, her stomach a tight bundle of nerves. She hadn't felt this way
since she was a kid and secretly dating Xander, she thought with half
a smile. It was a vaguely disconcerting thought, and at thirty she
knew that she was really too old to be crushing on someone. A bitter
thought that it might just be loneliness passed through her mind, and
she dismissed it quickly. Living in L.A. you soon realised that
everyone was lonely in some way. The people that turned to Angel, the
people who she dealt with on a day-to-day basis, were some of the
loneliest people in the world. They were desperate and had nowhere to
turn except to complete strangers. At least she had her friends, and
that meant a hell of a lot more than simply having someone she could
call her lover. No, she was certain, that was not the basis of the
attraction she was feeling now. There was no basis for it, the
feelings were there simply because they were, no need to attempt to
rationalise something into clear-cut emotions.

She walked back over to the side of the office and began to pour the
coffee into the two clean mugs that were there. Several dirty ones
lined the surface, and she realised that either Anne had had a very
busy day, or she had been too distracted to concentrate on the most
simple of housekeeping tasks. She found herself hoping it was the
latter, and that she was the cause of that distraction. Staring at
the mugs, she did not realise that Anne had joined her until she
heard the soft click of the door shutting behind her. She turned
around and wondered if she was looking as shy and bashful as Anne
was. Unable to think of anything else to say, she picked up one of
the mugs. "Coffee?"

"Thanks." Anne took a couple of paces forwards and took the cup from
her, then, realising that her hands were shaking slightly, placed in
quickly down on the edge of her desk. The last thing she needed now
was scalding coffee on her fingers. "So how did it go?"

"Surprisingly well. I didn't even break a nail." Cordelia mocked
herself. "In fact, I didn't even have to fight. Faith came up with a
plan to set fire to the place, so I just got to sit on the hood of
the car and watch the fireworks go up. My favourite type of demon
hunting. The type where they stay the hell away from me."

"I've been worried about you all day. I mean, especially after this
morning." Anne looked down at the floor again, surprised that she had
bought up the topic so soon in the conversation. All the times that
she had gone over it in her head during the day it had always been
Cordy who started talking about it first.

"We need to talk." Cordy said it with grim determination and sat down
on the couch, patting the space beside her to indicate that Anne
should sit next to her. She felt nervous again and mentally chastised
herself, after all, the two of them had been friends for a long time,
and what had happened between them that morning should not have any
effect on that. That kiss had not been a one-off, something born from
fear or desperation. It was something that had happened because they
had both wanted it to, and Cordelia was sure that this attraction was
something that they were both feeling. "About what happened this
morning," she added unnecessarily. "I'm not sure when I started
thinking like, this, but..." she trailed off again.

"Neither am I. I mean, you're one of my best friends and everything,
I don't want to ruin that."

"Neither do I. Would we ruin it?"

"Are you sure you want this?"

"Are you?"

"I think so. But if you don't, then I understand -"

"I do." Cordelia interrupted with a certainty that surprised even
her. She was used to be headstrong when it came to the things that
she wanted, but today she hadn't always been entirely sure that this
was the right thing for them to do. Sitting there now, she just
wanted to go out for a drink with Anne, have a good time like they
always did when they were together. Not this awkward 'first time'
conversation that was happening between them. It was going to remain
awkward until one of them actually got round to doing something
positive. With her mind made up, she reached over and took Anne's
hand in her own. "I'm sure," she whispered, and leaned forward.

It had nothing of the spontaneity of that morning. The kiss was new.
Tender. For Anne it was filled with relief that Cordelia was alive
and was just here with her. It was a life-affirming moment, when it
all just seemed to make sense. Everything that the two of them chose
to do with their lives was for moments like this. So they, and the
rest of the world, could find the sanctuary of another person's
touch. Then, as Cordelia's tongue gently probed between her lips, she
felt her eyes fluttering shut, and all such thoughts were forgotten.
She felt Cordy's hand slide around the back of her head, making the
tiny hairs on the back of her neck prickle as the kiss deepened. She
found herself reaching out, needing to hold Cordelia, pull them
together.

As she did so, Cordelia gently pulled out of the kiss, sliding closer
to her on the couch, and touched the side of her face with her
fingers. There was an intensity in her eyes that told Anne she had
enjoyed the kiss every bit as much as she had. "What time do you
finish here?"

"In about an hour. Why?"

"Do you want to come for dinner at my place? Maybe then we could go
out somewhere afterwards."

"I'd love to."

"About nine?"

"Okay." Anne felt a huge smile break out on her face. Dinner sounded
so normal. And things would have to be normal between them.

"Good." Cordelia stood up, and took Anne's hand in her own, pulling
her up in front of her. She leaned in and kissed her again, gently,
with the merest hint of desire. "I'll see you then." The smile and
tone were more seductive that Cordelia had intended, but Anne didn't
seem to mind.

*****

"Master!" the vampire's tone was frantic as he rushed into his
Prince's chambers. He had news, good news, but he was certain there
was some bad in there somewhere. There had been nothing mystical to
indicate that they would be receiving help to defeat their enemies.

"What is it?" Cirus looked down at the floor and then back up
rapidly, indicating that his protégé should be on his knees bowing
before him by now.

"Sorry, my liege." The vampire dropped down rapidly and humbly. "I
bring you news, sir. Our enemies have been subjected to yet another
attack. They are dead."

"All of them?"

"The clan is gone my Lord. Burnt as they slept. Our enemies of
centuries have been destroyed at this most crucial time."

"What force has aided us in defeating our greatest enemy?"

"I cannot be certain, as you can appreciate. But we believe it was
the Slayers who bought about their demise."

"The Slayers?" His voice rose in rage. "Do you not understand what
this means? They are determined to stop the ritual being performed.
They are not aiding us! They would destroy the clans one by one if
they had to, in order to get to us. For centuries we have lived a
careful and most glorious existence. Now I fear that we are to be
bought out into the light, and the master, our one true father, will
not rise to lead us to greatness. For centuries we have been waiting
for his return, willing him to use his power, guide us and restore us
to our rightful place in the world. The Slayers could ruin all of
that, and now we do not even have our enemies to distract them and
afford us some protection."

"What do you suggest we do, Prince Cirus?"

"We must advance the rituals. We cannot afford pomp and ceremony any
more. We must initiate the most basic of rituals. The sooner we can
complete the set, the better. We still have to wait for the next
station of the moon, however," he mused, tapping his index finger on
his lower lip as he did so. "There is no way that we can change the
night for the ceremony, but everything else must be fully prepared.
Leave nothing to chance. Explain the situation to everyone. Make it
clear that if they are not diligent in their preparations, they will
end up flaming in hell like our enemies."

*****

"Since Willow, erm, died," gulped Buffy, avoiding looking Faith in
the eyes, "I've been feeling so alone. Willow had been my best friend
for so long. Even at the end, I still thought of her as the person I
was closest to, even though it wasn't the truth any more."

"Why?"

"Because Willow couldn't be close to anyone any more. The power, the
darkness, whatever you want to call it, had taken over her. It was
all that she could think about. I kept telling myself she was still
my Willow, but I knew that she wasn't. The Willow that I loved had
been gone for some time. I hadn't even noticed."

"I don't think that there was anything you could have done B. When
you feel it, that badass feeling, only you can get yourself out of
it. Take it from me, I've been up close and personal with the dark
side of the force."

"But why couldn't she do it? Tell me Faith, if you could do it then
why couldn't she?" She looked up as her voice rose in anguish, and
she realised too late the way that had sounded more like an insult
than she had intended it to be. She watched as Faith visibly bit her
tongue and turned away towards the window. "I didn't mean...it wasn't
meant like that. Faith?" In the reflection on the windowpane, they
made eye contact, and she exhaled as Faith nodded slightly.

They were still keeping an uneasy distance. Even now, in the same
room, when Buffy had come to her.

Faith knew the way that it worked, she faced it every day with the
kids at the shelter. Just like them, Buffy would open up to her, just
for a while, one conversation, and then withdraw, as if nothing had
changed between them. From her experience, Faith also knew that it
was a waste of time trying to convince or push Buffy. She was making
each of these steps on her own, and if Faith got too involved, then
there was a good chance that Buffy would cease the dialogue between
them altogether.

"At least you have someone Faith. To take the loneliness." She
stopped, waiting for Faith to reply, watching the reflection for any
sign that she had let her earlier insult pass by.

The silence was starting to become overpowering.

"We broke up." Faith wasn't sure why she was lying, all she knew was
that she hated herself yet it felt the right thing to do. She found
herself torn between searching Buffy's face for a response and
turning away so that Buffy would not be able to see her eyes. There
is nothing more overpowering than wanting someone that you can't
have. For Faith it was the biggest head-fuck of her life, and it had
been this one same person for such a long time. She knew that Buffy
didn't want her, would never want someone like her. And not just
because of the female thing. She was everything that Buffy despised,
everything that she never wanted to be. Faith couldn't pinpoint the
exact day when these decisions had been made, but now they might as
well be engraved in stone. Nothing she had done could change that.

*****

Cirus paced the room anxiously. The others were either out preparing
for the ritual or hunting. He could feel anger and frustration
building up inside. Things had been going so well until they had come
here. They needed to be in a place of mystical convergence. This was
not the Hellmouth, but the waves of energy that spilled out from it
across the state of California was intense enough for them to perform
the ritual.

He knew that the Slayer lived on the Hellmouth. She who had slain so
many of his kind, even some of his clan who had made the initial
journey to these parts in search of the mystic place where their
ritual could be performed to perfection. He was certain that when he
had raised their one true Father, brought him back to his rightful
place in the earthly dimension, he would dispose of the Slayer and
lead them to ultimate power. And he was to be the right-hand man,
absorbing some of the power and making the name of his clan famous
across the realms. Each dimension would come to know of him and his
followers who raised the most powerful of all vampires and dragged
him back from the curse of his Hell, to take over the earth.

For centuries, Cirus had been dreaming of this power, this glory, and
now it was finally within his reach. But without the last stage of
the ritual, then it would remain nothing more than his dream. Years
had passed since he had been the notorious warrior-leader of his
clan, and now he was nothing more than a seldom-mentioned legend. He
had lost his glory and his power once before, and he was certain that
it would not happen again. This time he would be more glorious, more
feared, and the Slayers would cower before him and his master. Their
blood would be the sweetest he had ever tasted, and he tipped back
his head, imagining the sensation of the dark warmth he would feel as
he sank his teeth into the tender flesh, and the liquid would bubble
and ooze over his lips, slide down his throat and trick over his
chin. They would be the most memorable feeds of his long life. He
knew that the moment was to be special, the execution of the most
powerful forces for the fight of the good that this world had ever
seen. And he would be the one to defeat them.

But first he had to stop them from reaching him. They would meet, but
only when he went to them, they would not come to him. Having made
the decision, he smiled to himself and marched into the room where
his evening meal was waiting for him, bound and gagged on the table.

*****

Why Faith had lied was a mystery to her; it just felt right. She knew
that she should question her motives, but in many ways, they did not
need questioning. She knew now the same things that she had known all
along. Besides which, now wasn't really time for questioning anything
that she did. She was running on autopilot in a way she had avoided
since her time back in Sunnyhell. There was no evil attached to her
actions, just the deep-seated sense that she was finally making
something right in her life. Something which all the redemption in
the world could not help her with. As she waited for Buffy's reaction
to the news that she was now apparently single, Faith had to fight
down the urge to begin pacing the room.

"Oh." Buffy's response wasn't the one that Faith had been expecting,
and there was no indication in her tone or her words that gave away
what she was really feeling. If indeed she was feeling anything. It
suddenly struck Faith that Buffy might not actually give a shit about
what she did. She never had before, why should a few days of
conversation without weapons change ten years of anger and hatred?

"Well..." Faith said, more to fill in the gap, rather than anything
else.

"People just don't understand. What we do."

"Tell me about it."

"It's been hard for me too. I just keep wishing, hoping that one day
someone will want me for all the bits of me, Slayage included. I used
to think it would be Angel. Then Riley. Then Chris. But it always
turned out the same." Buffy nursed the gritty dregs of her hot
chocolate. "Maybe one day, if I live that long, I'll find that
person, the one who loves me for who I really am. Maybe, one day, you
will too. And someone you can love just because who they are as
well." Buffy looked up and watched Faith turn back towards the window.

"Maybe. Maybe I already have," Faith gulped as to her surprise,
tears sprang to her eyes.

Buffy had known. She didn't say anything, but she knew. Even staring
at Faith's reflection, noting the way the brunette was avoiding
making eye contact with her, the way that she had lowered her voice;
it had all made a complete picture. *Maybe I already have.* It struck
a chord with her, and Buffy had known. That for Faith, she was the
one. The one that Faith had been waiting for, hoping for all these
years, that someone special who understood.

Buffy realised it must be hard for Faith. She could not be the one.
She never had been, and was sure now that she never would be. Faith
must realise that as well, know that it could never happen. She did,
didn't she? Buffy had realised that her hands were shaking with some
unconscious emotion that she couldn't place. But suddenly the walls
seemed to be closing in around her and the air was so thick it seemed
tangible. Buffy had to fight the urge to run out of there, but in the
end, that was what in effect she had done. She had made her excuses
and left, to the sanctuary of her own room, and away from all the
emotions that Faith was feeling and making her feel. Trapped like she
had been with Angel and Riley, and in the very end, with Willow.
Trapped like when her mother had died and she had felt helpless and
her life was spinning out of control. She realised that was exactly
it. With Faith her life was never in control, the reins slipped out
of her hands as a matter of course. More sleepless than she had been
when she had decided to go and see Faith, Buffy had settled down to a
restless night, filled with disturbing dreams.

*****

When she had woke that morning, it was a feeling that she still
couldn't shake. She went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast,
painfully conscious of the dark circles under her eyes, and hoping
that the others would put it down to the stress of what they had yet
to face. The impending vampire threat should have always been at the
front of her mind, but being here seemed to constantly be raising
demons of her own.

"Hey." Fred's voice came from behind her, and Buffy could tell that
she was smiling. The woman always seemed to be smiling, regardless of
what was happening. It was unnerving. "Is there enough coffee for me
as well. I can make another pot if there isn't, but if there is then
I might as well have some of yours."

"Sure, there's plenty." Buffy turned around and returned Fred's
smile. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm good. I'm always good."

"Oh, good."

"Yes, good." Fred nodded. "Especially knowing that I helped you. I
like helping people. I want to work more with Angel, but I have the
university, and I have to work there, and working with Angel is like
working three jobs anyway, so I don't get to do it as much as I want,
but I help whenever I can. Like now."

"Not wanting to, um, sound ungrateful or anything, because I am sure
that I am, but how have you helped me?"

"With Faith, of course."

"Faith?"

"Our talk the other day. About your problem with her. You seem to
have got over it. Which is good, because the weird thing about life
is, you never know when it was all going to change," she seemed to
drift off, staring somewhere in the middle distance, which Buffy
supposed was some long lasting effect of Pylea. Buffy shivered at the
thought she had been dead for some of the time that Fred had been
there. *Her* long-lasting effect, she supposed. Fred snapped back to
attention with a smile, and began to walk out the kitchen. "Bye."

"Bye. Oh, uh, Fred? Is Faith still around?"

"No, she left for work already. She went in early because she
couldn't sleep."

"She spoke to you? What time did she leave?"

"Oh, about five A.M. Something like that." She smiled at Buffy's
quizzical look. "Oh, I hardly ever sleep. Not any more." She walked
out the room leaving Buffy feeling bemused. The woman was freaky.
Nice but freaky. Ignoring some nagging disappointment that she had
missed Faith, Buffy sat down with her coffee and debated the virtues
of donuts versus meusli. Thirty seconds later, the donuts won out,
and she went upstairs to get dressed.

*****

"Well," began Wesley. "One thing is certain. The vampires we saw
running yesterday were definitely wearing black robes. Which makes
them the clan that Gunn and I fought, rather than the ones that you
faced." He indicated at Buffy and Faith with his glasses. "So we have
another rival clan we have yet to successfully dispose of. As this is
the group that informed us of most of what we know now, we can assume
that they are still intent on continuing the ritual. In fact, they
may have been the clan that is most capable of doing so. Cirus is the
most mentioned of the old clan leaders, and was widely considered to
be the most powerful, it would seem. Now, by my calculation, the next
station of the moon is four days away. That would," he paused to look
down at his notes, "be the last of the initial rituals necessary for
raising Ictinius. After that, if legend is true, the final ritual,
the one for raising this creature, can take place any time. Fred has
been so helpful as to do some calculations," he looked down at
another page of notes, this time written in a different hand, "none
of which I can, erm, actually understand. But the gist of it is, we
are far enough away from the hellmouth for the latent energy to be
sufficient to avoid the relocation of the clan to a more mystically
potent area."

"Say again Wes?" said Gunn with a frown. "Street speak."

"Well, my main fear was that they would have to be closer to the
hellmouth to perform the last ritual. Where the energy would be more
powerful. At least while they were here, we have some chance of
knowing where they are. If they had to go closer, they would be
forced to move, and not necessarily to Sunnydale itself."

"So they'll be staying here?"

"Assuming that moving the entire clan would be quite a lengthy
process, and finding somewhere to stay would require someone going
ahead to find a suitable location, and then reporting back." Wesley
paused as Gunn snorted.

"What is it about damn vamps. They never heard of a cell phone? Or a
Greyhound?"

"Well, we must remember that this clan has survived for centuries.
They are based on a long tradition. If we consider that they have
never changed what is essentially their uniform, then seems that they
are traditionalists. In their eyes, they are true vampires, not
bastards born without a clan."

"You know all this from those books Wes?"

"Yes. But unfortunately, I don't know where they are or really any
more detail concerning the ritual. I just hope that we can use what
little knowledge we do have against them somehow. That's all the
information I have? Anybody else? Angel?"

"I'm meeting a contact tonight. Kate's fixed me up with him.
Apparently he's done some research into the ancient cults of the
world, and that includes this Cirus guy. But that's about it. Anybody
else?" He looked around the table as everyone else shook their heads
miserably. The victory of the day before seemed less of a momentous
occasion now.

Besides which, two people in the room had other things on their
minds, both of which were currently arguing over whose turn it was to
do the shelter's laundry. Faith was claiming vamp-exhaustion, and
Anne was calling overtime. In the end, Anne told Faith that she had
spoken to Cordelia the night before, and Faith's vamp-killing for the
day had included a not-so-tiring lighting of a single match. Anne won
and Faith stormed off to get clean sheets, flipping the finger at
Anne's smug grin.

Over at the Hyperion, Cordelia was wondering what Anne was doing, and
hoping that she would see her again that night. Then she was racked
with self-doubt that it might be too soon and she would look too
pushy. They had both been determined to take it slow. They had
semi-discussed it over dinner the night before. It was something that they
felt they should do, almost out of respect for the other. For
Cordelia there was an element of fear and inexperience as well, that
she did not have the courage to voice to Anne. She had never made love
to a woman. Sure, she had seen the girl on girl action in the porn
movies, had even been offered a part in one by her agent once, but
something told her they weren't the most realistic of examples.
Anne's private life was something she knew a little about, and she
knew that she was far more experienced in that department. After all,
she had slept with Faith. Just spending time with Faith had a
tendency to broaden your horizons, so sleeping with her must have
been a revelation of sorts.

Buffy, on the other hand, was emotionally torn. She wanted to see
Faith and let her know that things were still okay between them, the
fact that she had almost fled from the room last night was playing
heavily on her mind. But the feeling she had received from Faith, the
fact she believed that her suspicions had been confirmed, made her
feel uneasy. She found herself repeatedly wishing that things could
have been different, that maybe if she had never met Faith her life
would be very different now. Less complicated maybe. She sighed
inwardly, knowing that the powers that be had a plan, and there was
nothing that could be done to change it. She had doubted that when
she was younger, she had believed that you had some control over your
own destiny. But when Cordelia had become vision girl, it was another
aspect of herself she had doubted. There was definitely a plan, and
her coming back from the dead had reinforced the idea permanently.
She knew that Faith had existed for a reason, that they had been
brought together for a reason. She just wished she knew what it was.
There was a nagging doubt that is wasn't just so they could fight
evil.

*****

"Hi, I wasn't expecting you?" Sam looked surprised when she opened
the door to her apartment and Faith was standing there. Then she
noticed the look on her face, and knew just what kind of surprise
visit this was. She didn't invite her in.

"I, er...I'm sorry."

"It's over isn't it?" It was a statement, not a question.

"It's just..."

"It's her, isn't it?"

"Who?" Faith was shocked. Sam didn't know anything about her life,
especially not about any of the other women in it.

"Her. Buffy." The tone was bitter.

"How did you-?"

"You talk in your sleep Faith. And one name has been popping up since
we got together. Look, I don't know who she is, and I don't want to
know. I agree with you Faith. It's over. See you around." Faith was
left staring at the wood of the door. It had been surprisingly easy,
but that didn't make her feel any better. Sam had done nothing wrong,
and now she was just another name on the list of people who she had
hurt in her fucked up little life. The guilt ran deep, and the fact
that it was happening to somebody every day, in every part of the
world, did nothing to assuage it. Sighing to herself, she flicked a
cigarette from her softpack and turned to go home. She probably had
worse things there to face, and relished the prospect even less than
the idea of finishing with Samantha.

When she got back to the Hyperion, she hesitated outside the front
door, before making her way round back. Silently thanking her slayer
abilities, she climbed through the window to her room. At least now
she wasn't lying to Buffy about being single. But after Buffy had
high-tailed it out of her room at break-neck speed last night, Faith
was even more certain that Buffy couldn't care less about her dating
arrangements.

*****

As Faith walked down the stairs, resigned to the fact that Buffy
appeared to be in her room, and therefore it was up to her to patrol
alone, she was surprised to see Cordelia still at her desk, and
apparently doing nothing. Not that it was anything unusual for Cordy,
Faith reflected, but this did look more like loitering than anything
else. "Hey Cordy, I'm off out now." Faith really wasn't in the mood
for talking to anyone. She hadn't seen Buffy since she had got back
from work, and couldn't work out who was avoiding who, or whether
anybody was avoiding anyone at all.

"Faith, can I talk to you for a minute?" Cordelia opted for a tone
somewhere between wheedling and begging.

"What, no man? Thought you'd be used to that by now Honey." Faith
turned the mock pout into a fully-fledged smirk.

"Exactly. Well, sort of. Well..."

"Spit it out Cordy. I've got to patrol tonight and it's ten already.
The vamps'll be all tucked up in their nice cosy crypts by the time I
get there." She really wasn't up for a deep and meaningful, not now.

"You're not going to make this easy for me, are you?"

"Look. I have to go and kill the undead creatures of the night, come
back and do my laundry otherwise I'll be going to the shelter
tomorrow covered in vamp dust, not to mention what'll happen if I run
into a slime demon or something. I'm trying to help the homeless, not
look like one of them. Now you want me to give you advice on some
guy. In case you're forgetting C, I gave them up along with my evil
ways."

"Someone's touchy tonight. Anyway, it's not about a guy." Cordelia
retaliated to Faith's sarcasm, wondering what was getting her so
wound up anyway. Faith was usually so laid back these days. Probably
some girlfriend problem. Cordelia wondered if that was in store for
her as well. Girlfriend problems sounded good right now.

"But I thought you said-"

"No Faith, *you* said. I never said anything about a man. Jeez, don't
you think I know how to get one of them. I was practically born with
the knowledge."

"Then how come you've been the dateless wonder for the past two
years. Go out and get one then and put all that knowledge into
practice."

"Will you stop interrupting and listen to me!" Cordelia practically
screamed. This was difficult enough as it was, and if she had known
that Faith was going to be in such a bad mood then she probably
wouldn't have bothered. But now she had started, she was sure as hell
going to finish.

"No need to shout-"

"It's about a girl Faith. Happy now!" Cordelia clapped her hand to
her mouth, surprised that she had actually said it out loud, and now
it was out in the open, what it meant on the wider scheme of things.

"If I'd have known you felt that way about me..." Faith began to
tease, then took one look at Cordelia's expression and thought better
of it. She sighed and sat down on the edge of the desk. "It's Anne,
isn't it?"

"How did you...?"

"Well, much as I know you love me Cordy, I know you don't love me in
that way. Buffy's hardly your high school sweetheart, and Wesley and
Lorne, though coming a very close second, aren't really girls. Don't
let them fool you." Pleased to see that her comment had brought a
smile to Cordelia's face, she continued. "We've been cutting back on
clients thanks to those robed guys, so that only leaves Anne.
Besides, you've been seeing a lot of her lately, and she has been
taking a keen interest in you at work. She's been subtle about it, of
course, but I can read her like a book. And my gaydar can spot a girl
crush at a thousand paces. So, am I right?"

"You're right."

"In that case, spill. What's the problem?"

"I'm not sure. I like her and everything. I didn't mean that to sound
like it did. I, um, like her a lot, and we've sort of started dating,
but it's not really gone past the kissing stage..." Cordelia trailed
of uncertainly as a deep shade of crimson made its way across her
cheeks. Faith burst out laughing. And kept laughing until tears ran
from her eyes and she was having to hold her sides where they seemed
just about ready to split open.

"You're," she gasped, trying not to laugh again, "You're asking me
for sex tips aren't you?" She began to laugh again as Cordelia stood
up, hands on her hips in a defiant gesture.

"No I am not."

"Yes you are!"

"Ok, so I am, but it's not something you should be laughing at.
Please Faith," she lowered her voice so that Faith could see she
really was embarrassed. When Faith realised that she was on the verge
of upsetting her, she sobered up.

"I'm sorry. Really. Sorry. What do you want to know?"

"Just, what it's like I guess. What you have to do. That sort of
thing."

"Cordelia, do you remember the first time you had sex with a guy?"

"Vaguely."

"What did you do?"

"Durr Faith, we had sex."

"You just did it, right?"

"Well, yes, but that was different..."

"No it wasn't Cordy. It's just the same. You just go with the flow.
Do what feels right. And just because it's with a woman, don't expect
it to be perfect the first time. That's just straight bullshit. Don't
expect too much, just try and enjoy it. Have fun."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really."

"It's just..." This was the part that Cordelia really did not want to
talk about, but for her own peace of mind, it was something that she
felt had to be said. "You and Anne, you, um, dated for a while."

"Are you asking if we slept together, coz you know that we did."
Faith was puzzled. Everyone had known that they had been sleeping
together for a while.

"I know you did. God, this is so embarrassing."

"Hey, Cordy." Faith said gently, and took the other woman's hands in
her own. "You're one of my best friends. You don't have to be
embarrassed about anything with me. C'mon, talk to me."

"This is going to sound so stupid, all jealous and paranoid."

"What? You're jealous of me because I slept with her first?"

"No!" Cordelia rubbed her hand over her eyes, and took a deep
breath. "Faith, you practically ooze sex appeal. You always have. I
mean, the first time we all met you, Xander only took his eyes off
your breasts to look at your pouting lips. I just, I don't know, how
am I going to live up to that?" Cordelia serious question was met
with a raucous laugh.

"That's what you're worried about? That you aren't going to be as
good in bed as I was! Cordy, trust me, I'm no great lay."

"You're just saying that."

"I wish I was. I'm not that hot in the sack, scout's honour. I'm
bossy, far too demanding, and that wonderful slayer strength means I
keep going for longer than the fucking Duracell bunny. I'm either not
satisfied or I just wear all my girls out," she finished with a wink.

"But-"

"No buts. If I was that great and it was all so good, then Anne and I
would still be together, and we're not. If she likes you as much as
you seem to like her, then the sex really won't be a problem. Okay?"

"I guess." Cordelia was doubtful.

"Come here," Faith opened her arms and Cordelia sat on her lap and
let herself be embraced. Once, being held by Faith was like sticking
your head into the jaws of a particularly hungry lion. Now, it was
just comforting.

"Why don't you ask Buffy to go with you?" Cordelia frowned as Faith
turned her head away uncomfortably. "What?"

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not? The two of you have been getting on okay haven't you? Don't
tell me you've had another argument with her?"

"No, nothing like that. We've been talking. She's actually been
treating me like a human being. I just don't want to push it. What if
she says no?"

"You don't want her to say no, do you? That would really bother you."

"Yes. And before you say it, I know that it shouldn't. I should be
used to her treating me like crap. But I keep wanting her to let me
be her friend again. I've always wanted that Cordy, and you know it."

"You still love her, don't you?" Cordelia said quietly.

"What?" Thoughts and feelings which Faith had thought she had kept
well hidden beneath the veneer of redemption seemed to find their way
out into the open.

"You don't have to hide it from me Faith. You fell in love with her
back in Sunnydale, and when she chose Angel instead of you, you
decided to hate her instead. That was when it all started to go
wrong, wasn't it? It was because you loved her that you couldn't
handle things any more. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that you
were the sanest person in the world before all that. But she was the
one who tipped you over the edge."

"You have a vision or something?" Faith said flippantly.

"We're friends, you said that yourself a minute ago. Friends know
things about each other. They understand each other. Just because we
don't say it out loud doesn't mean that we didn't know."

"Oh, so much for my incredible covering up skills."

"Faith, I can't tell you that Buffy is somehow miraculously going to
fall in love with you now. She's got a lot of her own issues still to
deal with. She'll probably never feel that way about you, and you
know it."

"Way to rip my heart out C..."

"Would you rather I lied to you?"

"No."

"Exactly. So what if she doesn't fall head over heals for you?
Wouldn't you rather be friends with her than nothing at all? Instead
of avoiding her and hoping that you don't get hurt again? You're a
different person now, a little rejection isn't going to send you off
the rails and tripping over to the dark side anymore. And if it does,
I'll kick your ass all the way back over here. You think Angel's good
at the whole redemption kick? Wait till you see me!" she punched
Faith playfully on the arm and was rewarded with half a smile.

"I suppose."

"Stop doubting yourself Faith. You've gone past that. You know it as
well. Just be yourself. Go take your confident ass up to her room and
ask her to patrol with you."

"Okay. What about you?"

"I'm going to go home and call Anne and see if she wants to come
over."

"Go Cordy!"

"Thank you Faith." She said sincerely.

"No. Thank you. I guess I still need my butt kicking every once in a
while, huh?"

"And it'll always be my pleasure. Now go!"

"Yes Ma'm." With a mock salute, Faith made her way up to Buffy's room
as Cordelia collected her jacket and her bag.

*****

Buffy lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. She knew that she
really should go out and patrol, but she had heard Faith heading
downstairs a while ago. One slayer was usually more than enough
anyway, and she didn't have much enthusiasm for walking the streets
of LA on her own. She wasn't scared by anything that they had there,
next to the hellmouth, LA was usually like Kindergarten, but it could
be boring when you were out on a mission all alone.

Faith at least knew all the clubs around here. So she would probably
go out on patrol, then head off somewhere to find another girlfriend
to replace the last one, Buffy thought bitterly. Then she kicked
herself mentally for feeling that way, thinking that there was still
more than a little residual anger within her when it came to Faith.
She had really enjoyed the time that they had spent together lately,
and she could now freely admit to herself that Faith had changed, but
surely that didn't mean that a lifetime's resentment had to go away
immediately.

Who was Faith now? Once Buffy had thought she knew what it was like
to be her, trapped for twenty-four hours in that body, seeing the way
that people treated her. The tiniest hint of some of Faith's own
feelings and emotions trapped inside that skin-and-bone shell with
her. She hadn't liked the feeling, but after she found out that Faith
had slept with Riley, any feelings of sympathy she may have had
rapidly disappeared. Faith was designed to hurt people, it was what
she was made for, and the way she had people treat her was just a
response to that. Buffy had believed she deserved all the hatred that
could be thrown at her. But that was no longer Faith. She was no
longer treated with contempt. None of the others feared her. But
Buffy did. Buffy was more afraid of Faith than she would admit to
anyone, more than she liked to admit to herself.

Faith could still hurt her more than she could hurt the others. Buffy
couldn't rationalise this, but she didn't need heightened slayer
senses to feel it. Whenever they were in the room together, even over
the past few days, Buffy had that little warning light going off,
warning her not to get too close, not to get sucked into those big
brown eyes. There had always been a connection between them,
something she had never been able to define, something she had always
put down to being a slayer connection. Whatever made you a slayer was
inside the both of them. Whatever it was, they were the only two
people in the world who had it, and that was something special. In
many senses of the word. But just as it was a connection out, it was
a connection in. Faith could get into her somehow, she was certain of
it, and it made her feel uncomfortable, somewhere in her unconscious.

She was jolted out of her thoughts by a knock at the door. Out of
habit, she didn't say come in, and instead hauled herself off the bed
to answer the door in person. Her first thought was that Faith might
be returning the visit after the cocoa last night, but there was very
little chance that she would be back from patrol this early. And
Buffy really wasn't in the mood for talking to anyone else, not even
Angel. She pulled back the door and prepared herself to force a smile
for whoever was there. When she saw Faith standing on the other side
of the threshold, the grin that spread across her face was completely
natural, and she let it out before she could stop herself.

"Faith."

"Erm, hi."

"I thought you were out on patrol?"

"Not yet. I stopped to talk to Cordy for a while."

"Let me guess, man trouble?"

"Something like that," Faith said uncomfortably. "I was just
wondering, if you're not doing anything else that is, if you wanted
to come out on patrol with me." Faith's slight hesitancy was the only
thing that revealed her nervousness. She felt like she was asking
Buffy out on a date. Okay, asking someone to go out and kill things
with you was a pretty weird-assed kind of a date.

"Sure. Why not. I was just sitting here getting broody anyway. It
must be spending time around Angel."

"He's getting better, and you get used to it. Anyway, he's gone out
with Wesley to meet one of his mysterious contacts. I thought I'd be
better off patrolling. Keep the vampire population down, and you
never know, we might find something useful."

"Sounds like a good plan to me. I'll just grab my boots." Buffy
turned away from the door and then turned back. "Why don't you, um,
come in while I get ready." She smiled when Faith nodded and followed
her into the room. As Buffy sat on the edge of the bed, pulling on
her boots, Faith glanced around her.

Buffy had been living in the room for just over a week now, but she
had left her mark on it. As she stood there, Faith could feel the
unmistakable presence that was Buffy Summers. She had put some
pictures up, presumably to remind her of home, and Faith was not
surprised to see that she was not in any of them. There was one of
Buffy, Willow and Xander, taken a long time ago it seemed, Buffy
looked like she was still young enough to be in High School. There
was another one of her mother, on the bedside cabinet, the only one
in a frame, and Faith felt a twinge of regret that she and Joyce had
parted on such bad terms. Joyce had always been so good to her, and
she had repaid her in the old Faith style of doing things. The only
other one was of Dawn and Tara, and that one looked the newest. Dawn
was quite the young woman now, and according to Angel, had qualified
as a doctor. That was so like Dawn. But the photograph didn't show
that side of her. She and Tara were dressed up in costume, presumably
for Halloween or something like that. Faith bit back a smile as she
realised that Dawn was starting to look more like Buffy as she got
older. Something in the eyes and the smile.

It was the seriousness and the hurt that lay behind them. That was
what made her look like Buffy.

Buffy stood up and picked up a few stakes from her dresser. "Ready."

"Let's go." Faith led the way out of the room, surreptitiously taking
one last smell of the air around her. It was a scent that she could
have smelt at any time, any place in the world, and know that Buffy
had been there. She thought about what Cordelia had said earlier, and
stopped her train of thought. It would be enough if the two of them
could just become friends again. One miracle was a lot, expecting two
would be foolish.

*****

"Thank you for inviting me out tonight Faith."

"Hey, this gig is nothing to thank somebody for if you ask me."

"It's better than sitting alone in my room, or walking around here,
also alone I might add. It's good to have some company." She smiled
across at Faith who seemed to be unsuccessfully trying to hold in a
grin. They exchanged glances and Buffy thought that she could see it
again. That spark somewhere behind Faith's eyes. She didn't want
Faith to feel that way about her, couldn't let her. It was wrong, it
felt wrong, it shouldn't be there between the two of them. Faith
would hurt her.

Then she reminded herself that Faith wasn't in a position to hurt
her. So why was she feeling that in that one exchanged glance, she
already could?

Buffy shook off the feeling. "It's quiet tonight again. Where is
everyone?"

"Angel seems to think that they've all left town for a while. Seems
like a bigger fish has come to visit the little pond."

"I've never heard LA be called a pond before."

"I was being nice. Actually, I've come to like the place. Somewhere
to call home, yunno. I feel safe here B." She looked across,
realising she was coming close to starting a deep and meaningful, and
hesitated. She was better at polite conversation where Buffy was
concerned. Deep and meaningful seemed to mean opening herself up to
attack.

"Yeah?" Buffy's tone was interested. Faith bit back the feeling and
decided to continue.

"You'd guess that being the slayer, sorry B, *a* slayer, I'd feel
safe anywhere. I mean, I can handle myself pretty good, in fact,
there's only you who's ever whipped my ass, but that's not just what
being safe is. I guess I learnt that from the shelter. There's kids
who come in there who could cut you up with a knife before you even
saw it coming, but they don't feel safe. It taught me that feeling
safe is where you don't have to have faith in the fact that you can
cut someone up, or you having magic slaying powers. Where you don't
have to use them is where you feel safest."

"Wow."

"What?"

"I suppose I never really imagined you thinking about all this kind
of stuff. But it sounds like you think about it a lot. You'll be
telling me you write poetry next."

"You're safe on that one B," laughed Faith.

"I suppose I misjudged you that's all. A lot."

"No problem Buffy. Look, we don't have to talk about this."

"No, I want to. I want to - fuck!"

"Huh?" Faith was momentarily dazzled by the right words and the wrong
tone before her slayer senses kicked in on overdrive. There was
something evil, and it was right behind her. She watched as Buffy's
arm pulled back and ducked as it whistled past her ear and firmly
collided with whatever it was at her back. Crouching into a roll, she
got out of the way and got to her feet behind Buffy, who was now
throwing a string of punches at two vampires. The third was heading
for her. As she tugged her stake from the back of her waistband, the
adrenalin rush gave her a moment of clarity, separate from the fight.
Buffy had not been so surprised because of the greatness of the
vampires. They were just damn fledglings that hadn't had the sense to
get out in time. Three between them wasn't much of a fight either.
No, Buffy had been surprised because she had been so caught up in
what she had been saying. As Faith whipped the stake in and out of
the chest of the vampire in front of her, she knew that what Buffy
had been saying was important. As Buffy staked the last one and
looked over at her with a grin, Faith realised Buffy was teetering on
the brink of forgiveness. Maybe Cordy had had a vision after
all. "You okay B?"

"Yeah. Just when we were saying that things had got so quiet. Me and
my big mouth."

"I'll forgive ya. Could have done with some action anyway." Faith
stretched her muscles out. They were not as supple as they had been.
Sudden use left her feeling it, and made her feel old at the same
time. She wondered, like she often did, how she had been able to get
away with it so long. They had both lasted such a long time, and
being a slayer never came with a pension plan. She voiced the
thought. "Man I feel old."

"You seem quicker than ever."

"You too." They smiled uncertainly at the exchange of
compliments. "Do you think that there's any more?"

"I doubt it. I've been hitting three a night tops, what about you?"

"The same." Faith agreed.

"I guess," Buffy looked at her watch, "we've been walking for a
couple of hours now, so we could call it a night and head back to the
hotel."

"Sure. We've got to spend tomorrow working out what to do next about
a favourite vampire clan, and planning is something that I need my
beauty sleep for."

"I remember a time when slaying a vampire made you juiced and ready
for more action."

"I'm not saying we can't grab pizza on the way back," said Faith with
a smirk.

"And I was thinking you'd be heading off to a club to grab yourself a
different slice of action," Buffy said slyly walking past her. She
laughed when she glanced back at Faith's expression. The banter was
easy to fall into after a fight, it always had been. Buffy was
pleased with herself just knowing that it was still there, and she
could give as good as she got. She paused and waited for Faith to
catch up with her. They exchanged knowing smiles and began the walk
home.

"Kate, are you sure this is the place?" Even to Angel, the
underground crypt looked completely inhospitable.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"But what kind of demon lives down here? Your source is a demon
right?"

"What do you think? A vampire, idiot." Kate rolled her eyes at the
apparent obviousness of it all. Wesley turned around quickly, nearly
knocking her over in the process.

"You have vampires as sources these days?"

"Well, Angel is on my list of contacts in case you've forgotten."

"Angel has a soul."

"Yeah, and this one has good information and tends to pick up child
molesters in the park. Either way, it's a win-win for me."

A sudden sound in front of them made Kate and Wesley jump. "No need
to whisper yunno. Vampires can hear that. I see you've brought one of
my kind round Kate. How you doing mate?" He extended his hand towards
Angel with a friendly smile.

"Erm, my name's Angel. I thought you might be able to help us with
something." The vampire was wiry and dark, but there was something in
his manner that was disconcertingly like Spike. There was a
mischievous twitch around the eyes, and his lips seemed to
instinctively twist into a smirk. If his first impression was
correct, Angel suspected he would not be above playing games with
them to get his kicks.

"They stealing your food as well?"

"Huh?"

"Snotty pretentious vampires. Think they're bloody monks by the looks
of them. Warned me off my own ground. Take it they got to you too?"

"Erm, no. But they sound like the ones I'm looking for."

"There's a few of them you know."

"I know. But let's see if I can't have a quiet word with them and
then we can have you back on your own turf. Sound like a deal?"

"Fine by me. As long as they don't think that I've sent you. So no
casual name dropping ok?" He sent a look of warning in Kate's
direction and she nodded.

"Okay," she agreed. "So what have you got for us?"

"Three blocks west, on the edge of the park. Row of buildings that've
been condemned. Look completely fine to me. You know 'em?"

"I think so." Kate looked to Angel for confirmation, and he gave a
terse nod to let her know he had some idea of where they were.

"Seen a couple of them heading into there after they'd given me a
little roughing up. Now, you going to grease my palm?" He looked at
Kate expectantly.

"I'd like to give you more stuff as much as I would like to bite that
nice little neck of yours Kate, but I ain't got nothing else to
give." He held out his hand further and coughed by way as a demand.
She reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out a
wallet. She counted out five crisp twenties and handed them over to
him. He nodded and waved them away. "Nice to meet you mate," he said
to Angel, with a smile that made him shiver uncomfortably.

After the stale air of the crypt, the night seemed particularly clean
and wholesome. Kate and Wesley both breathed it in deeply, trying to
feel clean again.

"Angel," Kate held out her hand, "that's a hundred bucks you owe me."

"You could charge it to my account," he grinned.

"You have no account and you know it. Now cough up." She smirked at
him as he reached into his pocket. "So what are you going to do now?"

"Well," Wesley looked at his watch, "it's getting late and I wouldn't
recommend going there now, just the three of us. I think the best
thing to do is to go home and tell the others the news. Tomorrow, we
can all try to formulate the best course of action with everyone on
board. What do you think Angel?"

"I don't think we really have any choice. Thanks for your help
tonight Kate."

"No problem. You'll have to come round for dinner sometime when all
this is sorted. I'll do you something special. Like put it in a bowl
rather than a mug and make you eat with a spoon." She bit back a
laugh at his expression. "You can tell me how it went."

"I will." He leant down and kissed her gently on the cheek.

"Be careful. Both of you." She smiled as they began to go their
separate ways, shaking her head in disbelief. Why did all the hot men
in LA have to be dead?

*****

When they got back, the place was virtually silent. Only Fred could
be heard pottering about in the kitchen, making a cup of coffee,
while somehow still clutching a heavy textbook to her chest. She
jumped when they entered, spilling some coffee from the cup.

"I'm sorry," she smiled apologetically, reaching for a cloth to wipe
the table. "I didn't hear you come in."

"That's okay Fred, we vampires are supposed to be stealthy, remember?"

"Sure," she giggled, and then looked curiously at Wesley, as if she
was wondering what his excuse was. "How was Kate?"

"Most helpful," said Wesley. "I take it the others aren't in?"

"Cordelia went home earlier and Buffy is in her room. She seems kinda
strange," she added in a confidential whisper. "Faith went out on
patrol and told me not to wait up. But I'm not feeling tired at all."

"Well, I think Buffy has the right idea. I'm off to bed as well. Busy
day tomorrow. See you all in the morning." Wesley masked a yawn and
headed for the sanctuary of his room. Now they seemed to have their
biggest lead yet, the battle seemed to be rapidly approaching.

*****

Faith stared at the ceiling, blowing smoke rings towards it. She was
lost in a contented feeling until the sudden ringing of her phone
startled her. She reached over and snatched it up. "Hello?"

"I wondered if you were still up. I couldn't sleep." Buffy's voice
was quietly sensual down the line.

"Me either. I was just lying here thinking."

"I wanted to see you, but my bed is just so warm and comfortable..."
the voice trailed off.

"I hope you're not expecting me to come to you," smiled Faith, taking
a final drag from her cigarette. She looked around for a handy
ashtray but couldn't see one within arms reach. With slayer precision
she flicked the butt out of the open window.

"Oooh," the voice was laden with mock disappointment. "In that case
can we just talk awhile?

"Sure B. What do you want to talk about?"

"Anything, nothing."

"Sounds like it makes for interesting conversation. Do you always
call people in the middle of the night to talk to them about
nothing?" Faith teased. Something felt strange, out of place, but
Faith couldn't decipher the feeling.

"Only when I want to listen to their voice. Of course, it would sound
better if you were lying here next to me."

"Nice try Buff."

"Do I get points for trying?"

"It's a start. But if you really want to hear me up close and
personal, you gotta convince me that it's worth my while."

"Oh really?"

"Well, I'm comfortable enough here B. Had no plans to leave this bed
until morning. If you think that there's some reason I should, then
you have to give me a damn good reason." Faith smiled to herself with
satisfaction. Two could play at this game, and she would put money on
the fact that she was better at it than Buffy.

"My beds really warm..."

"So's mine."

"Mine has me in it..."

"Mine has me in it. So?"

"Yeah, but my bed is sooo warm," Buffy said in an exaggerated
tone, "that I'm having to lie in it naked. I bet yours isn't that
warm, is it? I mean, are you naked?"

"No."

"I know you like to sleep naked Faith. So if you come into my hot
little bed, then it would make it so much more comfortable for you."

Buffy sounded like she was trying not to laugh. Rather than killing
the moment, Faith founding it endearing.

"Go on." Faith was more interested now in listening to what Buffy had
to say rather than banter. In the back of her mind the feeling that
something was not quite right here continued to nag at her, but she
pushed it away.

"And I'm so tense," Buffy stretched and let out a low moan as she did
so. "If I could just get a massage from somewhere, I could go to
sleep all relaxed."

"Where are you tense?" Faith's voice was unintentionally husky.

"My back. My shoulders. Even my legs."

"You could massage your own legs."

"You're so right Faith. I could do that while I'm talking to you. Do
you mind?"

"Go for it." Faith was desperately trying to play it cool, but it was
getting harder. She had to admit it, Buffy was good. She listened
while Buffy began to massage her thighs, allowing tiny moans to slip
from her throat. "Does that feel better B?"

"Much, much better."

"Where are you massaging?"

"My thighs. The insides are so tight. I really need an extra set of
hands to help me out here Faith. I think I pulled a muscle right at
the top of my thigh while we were working out. But I'm not sure I
want to touch myself right there."

"Why B?"

"I think it needs a more expert touch than the one I've got. I wish
you would come here and do it for me Faith. The thought of you
sliding your hands up my thighs...stroking me...releasing all that
tension..."

"Hold that thought B. I'll be right there."

Faith went to get out of bed, but instead ended up sitting bolt
upright, her body confused and uncoordinated, a thin layer of sweat
covering her. She groaned and covered her eyes. Things we difficult
enough with Buffy on a day-to-day basis, without having dreams like
that to make things worse. Trying to block the smell of her own
arousal she stomped towards the shower with a scowl, making sure that
the setting was on cold.

*****

"Xander's palace of lurve."

"You sound happy," laughed Buffy.

"You could say that," he looked at Anya curled next to him and
wondered whether it was a latent demonic trait or the fact that she
was a woman that meant she could always sleep through the phone
ringing.

"Anya still putting you through your paces with the whole baby-making
thing?"

"She sure is. But let's just say that she found some pretty inventive
ways of doing it, so I'm not complaining. So what's up?"

"You know, impending apocalypse yadda yadda yadda. I just hate the
wait sometimes. I mean, I know we're going to get these guys, coz
that's what we always do right? But I'm sick of hanging around here
waiting for it to happen."

"Wishing you were back in Sunnyhell Buff?"

"A little. It's just, well, things here are kind of awkward."

"Angel or Faith? No, let me guess, Cordy?" He realised his mistake as
Anya's eyes flew open and she looked at him suspiciously. She would
sleep through bombs going off around them, but mention his teenage
crush and she was awake in an instant. He pointed at the phone and
mouthed 'Buffy' at her, but she didn't look too convinced. He rolled
his eyes.

"I don't know. There's always just so much history there. Sometimes
it still feels like it happened yesterday. Did we grow up too fast?"

"Just a little. You know what I think it is? Living on the Hellmouth,
well, it's intense. Everything just sort of gets sucked up along with
it, and before you know it, it's just one huge emotional roller
coaster. Everything matters Buff, even the little things."

"Not to mention that in this case, 'history' tends to refer to
killing and maiming more than failing to turn up for a date."

"Oh, and Xander? Don't let her wear you out too much." She finished
with a chuckle, hanging up before he had chance to retaliate with a
remark of his own.

She glanced over at the clock by the side of her bed. It was 11:30am,
but everyone seemed to be taking advantage of the fact that it was
Sunday to avoid getting out of bed. Everyone except Fred, of course.
Buffy had been lying awake when she heard the familiar shuffle of
feet making their way downstairs. Since then, there hadn't been a
sound. She decided to go downstairs and have some coffee and perhaps
do a workout. She needed to be in tiptop condition for the next few
days, and hell, she wasn't getting any younger.

*****

"Mmm, this is nice," Anne opened her eyes to the faint rays of
sunlight coming through the drapes in Cordelia's bedroom, and rolled
over. The moment she awoke, she had realised by Cordy's breathing
that she was already awake, and lying there, waiting for her. She
rolled over and nestled her head on the brunette's shoulder, draping
her hand across the firm stomach.

"Nice?" murmured Cordelia, placing a gentle kiss on the top of Anne's
head.

"Yeah. Waking up with you, having a lie in, Sunday mornings, the
works. Don't you think it's nice?"

"I do."

"It would be even better with a cup of coffee," Anne said with a
teasing smile.

"Oh yeah?" smirked Cordelia, looking down at her. "You want me to get
out of this nice warm bed, just to make you a cup of coffee? You know
I'm not going to, don't you? And you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because that's what Dennis is for. He's getting good at all this
psychic energy stuff. He even makes mean pancakes. Pity he can't go
out and get donuts though. Still, you can't expect a ghost to be able
to do everything can you?" Cordelia grinned as Anne propped herself
up on her elbow and leant over her.

"So you don't have to get out of bed then?" She kissed Cordelia
gently on the lips, lowering her body down so they were pressing
against each other. She tugged gently on Cordy's lower lip.

"Not just yet." She could feel an old familiar pit of fire starting
in the base of her stomach, the sensation of Anne's hand resting
around her waist prickling the skin. She suppressed a groan as Anne
leant further down and began kissing her neck gently.

Last night, Anne had been more than willing to stay over, but when
they went to bed, both had been content just to kiss and hold the
other. Now, waking up together, both women could feel the presence of
a more urgent desire in the other. As Anne continued to place kisses
along Cordelia's collarbone, Cordy let her free hand wrap around
Anne's waist, pulling her in for closer contact. Suddenly, the things
that she had read about in the scripts that her agent had sent her
over the years made alarming sense. The soft satin of her oyster
camisole seemed to be such a great barrier that was separating their
bodies, and one which she was desperate to remove.

Anne tried to regulate her breathing to some degree, to suppress her
desire, afraid that this would all be too soon for Cordelia. The slow
spread of desire was already working its way through her body. She
tentatively slid her thigh in between Cordelia's, pressing their
bodies closer, trying not to cause too much friction between them,
just trying to get closer. She could taste the faint hint of
Cordelia's perfume from the night before on the tip of her tongue as
she flicked it across the soft skin of her shoulder. She gently
scraped her teeth across the soft flesh, feeling it bump under the
pressure of her mouth, and the involuntary arching of Cordelia's back
underneath her, pressing them closer. She could feel the heat
spreading from Cordelia against the top of her thigh, the thin layer
of her panties unable to conceal the fact.

Emboldened by the reaction of Cordelia's body to her touch, her mouth
began the ascent back up her neck, finally capturing Cordy's mouth
with her own. She kissed her, slow and deliberately, feeling the
passion and fervour increase with the depth of the kiss.
Instinctively, she brought her hand up to gently caress Cordelia's
left breast through the thin material, feeling her nipple harden
almost instantly under the pressure of her thumb. She felt Cordelia
groan into her mouth, a groan that communicated her need, the desire
for her to continue. Cordelia's tongue plundered deeper inside her
mouth, faster, harder as she moved her thumb in lazy circles, piquing
her desire. Bracing herself with one arm, she hooked the other more
firmly around Cordy's waist, pulling her up into a sitting position,
not breaking the kiss between them.

She pulled away from the kiss after a short time and, maintaining eye
contact, reached down and pulled at the hem of the camisole, easing
it over Cordelia's head, leaving her exposed and vulnerable in front
of her. Kissing her again, she lowered them both back onto the bed,
her hands seeking contact with the skin that had been covered up
until now. Her mouth began its slow decent again, to the base of her
neck, and then lower, her tongue trailing across the flesh. As she
took a hardened nipple into her mouth, she looked up, conveying her
arousal and longing. She heard the gasp and felt the sudden intake of
breath as her lips closed gently, sucking the hardened tip into her
mouth, holding it firmly and lapping the tip of her tongue over it
until she felt Cordelia's hands on her shoulders, grasping her
tightly, the grip of one caught somewhere in between pleasure and
pain. She released the grip of her lips, and reached up to cup the
swollen breast, replacing her tongue with her thumb, as her mouth
sucked and nipped its way over to Cordelia's other breast feeling the
grip on her shoulders turn to one of anticipation.

As Anne's mouth descended on her second breast, Cordelia began to
feel tiny shocks reverberate their way to the pit of her stomach, and
the tingle that she had started to feel transformed itself into an
ache. She needed something to take it away, needed release, and her
desire removed any thoughts of taking it slow from her mind. She felt
Anne's hand slide down her stomach onto the top of her thigh,
agonising close to alleviating the throbbing ache she was feeling.
She heard herself whimper and open her legs a fraction wider,
inarticulate in communicating her desire. Anne's hand snaked its way
higher, back up her thigh, her fingertips brushing against the fabric
of her underwear. She felt Anne release her breast and whisper to
her, voice husky with desire, "Are you sure?" Cordelia looked down at
her, more sure than she ever had been of anything else in her life,
and nodded. She couldn't remember anyone asking her such a question
before.

The feel of Anne's fingers walking gently up her inner thigh made a
thin sheen of sweat break out over Cordelia's body. She lay, waiting,
as Anne took the weight of her body on one elbow, and gently lowered
her mouth towards Cordelia's. Neither woman closed her eyes as their
lips met in a slowly deepening kiss. Anne's hand snaked its way under
the soft fabric of Cordelia's underwear, and began to ease the
garment down her thighs. Anne did not want this first time to be an
awkward fumbling, she wanted everything to be perfect between them,
the way everything in their relationship had been up until now.
Cordelia helped her, kicking them off as they reached her knees,
allowing Anne free reign of her body.

Cordelia knew that there was no turning back now, that this was what
she wanted and needed. Her stomach was tight with emotion, the mix of
fear and anticipation combining with pent up desire. She began to
kiss Anne more furiously, slipping her arms around her waist and
pulling them closer together, parting her thighs further on instinct
alone. She gasped at the first touch of Anne's fingers against her,
all the muscles in her body tensing in reaction to the hesitant brush
of Anne against her. She could feel Anne grinding slightly against
her thigh in response, the heat of arousal as obvious as her own. She
ached for release, but Anne seemed intent on exploring her body,
discovering her, rather than anything else. And she couldn't deny
that it felt good, moaning slightly as Anne slid the first finger
into her, slowly and tenderly, eyes searching her own for the
reaction, still hesitant about moving things along too quickly.
Cordelia's answer was to wantonly splay her legs wider apart,
inviting Anne in, craving the feel of her inside. She could tell by
the gliding motion of flesh against flesh that she was wet, more
aroused than she could ever remember being, and the faint musky aroma
was something new and yet somehow familiar to her.

Anne could feel how turned on the woman underneath her was;
everything about her made it obvious. Cordelia was beginning to rock
her hips back and forth against her hand, trying to gain more
friction and a greater pace to their lovemaking. Anne took pity on
her, and gently eased another finger inside, letting Cordelia's body
adjust to it before thrusting it in and out, allowing the rhythm to
build up between them naturally. The movement of Cordelia's thigh
rocking against her own body was sending spirals of sensation through
her, and she found herself pressing harder into her in time with the
movement of her own hand. Anne pulled away from Cordelia's lips,
nuzzling into her shoulder, nipping at the skin there, something
which caused Cordelia to dig her nails firmly into Anne's shoulders,
as if she was trying to lock her firmly in place. Anne could tell
that Cordelia was on the brink, the slight trembling of the muscles
around her fingers heating the desire within herself. She reached
upwards with her thumb and pressed it in slow circular motions
against Cordelia, causing the brunette to cry out as the first wave
of her orgasm swept through her, forcing her hips to arch violently
against Anne, sending her spiralling towards orgasm herself. Anne
struggled to maintain the pace between them as Cordelia continued to
spasm tightly around her fingers, whilst her own body shook beyond
her control. They both rode out the waves of their orgasm, until Anne
allowed herself to collapse onto Cordelia, breathing heavily. She
found herself wanting to say 'I love you' but instead chose the only
word she trusted her mouth to form: "Wow."

*****

"My Lord, Prince Cirus. We have good news." The vampire bowed low in
front of his master.

"Well?" Cirus was tired. These days, good news was invariably
accompanied by bad news.

"The rituals are complete." The vampire bowed even lower, the sleeves
of his robe brushing the floor.

"The next station of the moon is two days away. Everything is
prepared?" They had made very good time. That at least reassured him
that his power and privilege as crown prince was still holding. He
suspected that there may have been some impatience from the younger
ones, those only three or four centuries old, but they seem to have
been brought into the clan well.

"Yes, my liege." The vampire was relieved to be the bringer of good
news. For the first time in the clan's history, things had been going
against their plan. All those vampires of this brethren knew that
this was the moment that they had all been waiting for. This was why
their clan was the ruler amongst vampires, destroyers of the other
tribes, and more than the bastard undead that roamed the planet like
a virus with no respect for the grand traditions. Now, it seemed, all
his lip service to the order over the past millennium was going to
pay off. The power of belonging to Cirus was going to reap its
rewards.

"Go." Cirus watched as his minion backed out of the office. Since the
destruction of his enemies, no word had come to them about the
slayers. He was still safe from them, of that he could be sure. His
senses were not telling him otherwise. If things could stay that way
until the moon was right and the final ritual was performed, then he
would be the greatest vampire that had ever lived. More famous than
that bastard Dracula even. He pursed his lips thoughtfully. He was so
close, but it was best to be safe. He decided. Extra guards needed to
be placed at all vantage points. The ritual must not be stopped or it
would fail. And he was certain he would not fail. He clapped his
hands loudly, and was answered almost immediately by the return of
the vampire.

"How many are we?"

"Our clan is widespread across the lands of..."

"How many are we here?" Cirus interrupted the speech, rolling his
eyes.

"Forty two all told, including your greatness, my liege."

"Place six at each entrance. Arm them against mine enemies. If the
slayers come to us, we must be certain that they cannot interrupt us.
Go, make good your word of allegiance to me." Cirus waved his hand
dismissively, and the vampire once again backed out of the room.
Satisfied that the plans were going well, he returned to the young
boy, drained to the point where he was slipping in and out of
consciousness, and lifted his wrist. Cirus placed it to his mouth and
tore at the flesh there, reopening the wound. He drank deeply,
feeling the power surge through him, and the blood tasted like
victory and power.

*****

It was two thirty when they began to congregate in the lobby.
Everyone seemed to be sharing that lazy Sunday feeling, with the
obvious exception of Faith, who was stomping around and scowling at
everyone and everything. Cordelia had arrived with Anne, and it
didn't take everyone long to work out what was going on. Both were
grinning from ear to ear, and Cordelia had a faint mark on her neck
that looked suspiciously like a hickey. Besides, the fact that they
were holding hands and making gooey eyes at each other gave the game
away somewhat. Faith snorted and stomped off for more coffee, Buffy
wondered if it was something in the water, while the three men just
grinned at each other appreciatively. At least, until Cordelia shot
them the death-stare and they all decided to get on with things.

"Ahem," Wesley coughed to get their attention. "Last night turned out
to be something of a success. We have a good idea of where the clan
of Cirus has located itself. For obvious reasons of safety, we are
assuming that they would not move this close to the ritual. However,
until the actual night of the ritual, which we have calculated will
be Tuesday night, we cannot guarantee that they will all be in the
same place at the same time. I therefore propose that we wait until
then before we make our attack. It will also give us more time to
prepare ourselves for the fight. After all, we will almost certainly
be out numbered."

"I say we go and kill the bastards right now," muttered Faith in the
middle of her pacing, and then knocked the remains of her coffee back
as if she was taking a slug of cheap bourbon. She noticed several
pairs of raised eyebrows sent in her direction. "What?" she snarled,
and the others looked away rapidly.

"As much as I would love to rush in there and take those guys out as
soon as possible," she shot a look at Faith, "I think it would be
sensible to wait. I mean, if we go in tonight and two of them escape,
they could still be enough to complete the ritual two nights later. I
agree with Wesley, I think we should try to interrupt the ritual as
much as focus purely on killing them. Anyone else?" She looked around
the room and everyone else shook their heads, with the exception of
Faith who seemed to be avoiding making eye contact with her. "In that
case, I think we should discuss weapons."

"Let me pack the crossbow B. Put an arrow through their motherfu-"

"Faith!" Angel interrupted, seeing where this bad mood was leading.
Before long Faith would step over the line with someone, and if that
someone turned out to be Buffy, she would not be as forgiving as the
rest of them.

"What?" She knew she was being unreasonable, but she had this
paranoid feeling that people could take one look at her and guess
what she was feeling. Being in a room with Buffy also had the effect
of bringing disturbing flashbacks from her dreams, and when Buffy
spoke, Faith's mind kept putting different words in her mouth. She
watched as Angel gave her a 'look' and made a smoking motion with his
hand.

He was right of course. She needed an excuse to get out of there
before she either yelled at someone or jumped Buffy. Neither of which
were good options at this time and place. She nodded and headed out
into the street, feeling the heat of the sun touching her face and
instantly felt a little calmer. She lit her cigarette and focused on
her nothing, merely watching the smoke as she exhaled and it
spiralled upwards. The calming exercises that Angel had taught her
all those years ago were not something she used very often any more,
but now she tried to recall them, tried to focus on nothing rather
than the turmoil she was feeling inside.

Back inside the Hyperion, Angel shot them all a glance, warning them
not to say anything about Faith or her behaviour. He noted the
worried look on Cordelia's face and wondered if she knew what was
going on. He was concerned. Faith needed to be focussed on the fight
that they had ahead, or she could end up killed. Or get one of them
killed. He just wished he knew if there was something he could say or
do that would put her mind at rest. He smiled to himself, ruefully.
Sometimes it was clear to him that the old Faith was still very much
there, always lurking, ready to surprise them all in the blink of an
eye.

*****

TWO NIGHTS LATER...

It was a clear night, and as they drove in silence, they watched the
moon ascend like a luminous warning of the events that were to come.
Faith sat in the back seat, and twiddled her stake around with her
fingers, trying to keep her hands occupied to stop them from shaking.
Buffy sat next to her, stony still. Faith could not begin to guess
what was going through her mind. She seemed the epitome of poised,
she knew her job and was prepared to do it, without any thought
beyond that.

Wesley and Angel had made some failed attempts at conversation, but
no one seemed to be interested in making small talk, they just wanted
to get the job over and done with, and make it through to the other
side alive. It had been a while since they had faced a threat as
large as this one, something that went beyond the power crazy lone
wolf. This was to be a battle and there was no escaping the fact. It
was still quite early, ten thirty, and the ritual was not due to be
completed until the early hours of the morning.

The headlights of Gunn's car followed them steadily as he, Fred and
Cordelia brought up the rear of the attack. Only Anne had waited back
at the Hyperion, not experienced enough for battle to keep her out of
harms way even if they had simply waited in the car. None of them
wanted to take the risk of getting her injured, the chance of it
being fatal weighing heavily on their minds. When the car stopped,
Faith began to feel the adrenalin kick in, loosening her tense
muscles, bringing the part of her that was the slayer to the fore.
She looked across at Buffy who seemed to be feeling the same thing,
her mouth set in a grim line of determination, and Faith allowed
herself to speak. "Good luck."

"You too." Buffy smiled at her, the steely surface cracking for a
second as she reached over and gave Faith's hand a squeeze. As she
let go, the expression was gone, replaced by the hardened look of a
slayer once more.

One by one they got out from their cars, and walked with a quiet
sense of purpose towards the fragile looking buildings that snaked
around the edge of the park. Angel pointed to one three in from the
end of the row, his senses picking up the presence of many vampires.
The others nodded and Faith and Buffy took the lead, stakes to the
ready, and Faith could feel the heavy weight of a cross underneath
her shirt.

From inside the building, they could hear the low murmurs of voices,
chanting in perfect synchronization a language that sounded vaguely
familiar to Wesley, though he couldn't quite place where he had heard
it before. Through the slats in the boarded windows, the light came
in irregular flickers as the procession of vampires with candles
passed by. The two slayers could feel their inbuilt warning systems
flashing brightly, and Angel could feel the overwhelming force of
evil associated with one of his kind. Such power was something he had
not felt since he had been in the presence of the Master when he was
in his heyday. For all three, it forced their thoughts and
determination into focus.

They crept in silent procession towards the main entrance, nearly
falling over each other when Buffy and Faith in the lead suddenly
stopped. There were six vampires on guard at the door, fangs already
bared, lined against the entrance ready for the prevention of an
attack. So, they were expected. It threw the balance against them
slightly, as the element of surprise had been removed. The two
slayers looked at each other and nodded. Behind them, Wesley and Gunn
raised their crossbows, taking aim. Buffy mouthed the count, 1-2-3,
and then the two of them surged forwards with lightening speed. Faith
could feel the burn in her thighs from the force of the run, but
nonetheless plunged her stake clean into his chest before he had a
chance to call out and raise the alarm. Like a mirror reflection,
Buffy had done the same. The whiz of arrows passed by their ears, and
two more of the vampires turned to dust in an instant. The two that
remained lunged out at the slayers, landing a stinging series of
punches which were returned with equal force. Faith managed to duck
under an incoming blow, stepping in closer to the vampire and
plunging her stake deep into his heart, her close proximity leaving
dust on her face as he disintegrated. Buffy quickly dispatched the
final one, but the scuffle had been loud. It was now or never.

With a hard kick, the door of the condemned building gave way,
permitting them entrance. All that remained were the columns that
held the building up, the rest of the room stripped bare. It afforded
them no protection, nor any place of hiding, but instead placed them
face to face with the clan. Those on the outside charged them, whilst
the inner circle continued their chant unperturbed. Furthest away
from them, on a crudely constructed dais, Cirus stood, raised above
the rest, and he shot the slayers a look that was almost approving.
Final battles always had to be worthy ones, and the two slayers
seemed to be the most worthy opponents that he had faced in many
centuries. But even they would be no match for Him when he arrived.
Ictinius, the First, the Father of them all. He would destroy the
Slayers as if they were nothing more than children's toys.

Contented that his outer circle was keeping the Slayers and their
little band of followers at bay, he returned his attention to the
ritual. Only a few minutes more and it would all finally be complete.
The centuries of waiting, of selective breeding and worship, it would
all pay off tonight.

Years of slaying had honed the skills of the slayers to near
perfection. Both were capable of fighting, but equally, they could go
in for the kill pure and simple. Time was of the essence; they had to
keep the engagement with each individual vampire as short as
possible. Cordelia was wielding her stake like a pro, her long legs
landing heavy kicks, and she also took advantage of those that were
temporarily stunned in their fights with Wesley, Gunn and Angel.

Angel had chosen his favourite weapon for the fight, a broadsword
that had come into his possession two years earlier. Its blade was
heavy and sharp enough to decapitate, and certainly made it useful
for defending yourself against unarmed opponents. He cut a swathe
through the vampires, leaving a trail of dust in his wake, determined
to make it into the inner circle. No one was sure how many was needed
to chant the ritual, but Angel was determined to destroy every one of
them.

Faith was close behind him, trading blows only briefly before staking
and moving onto the next one. She was not aware of Cirus stepping
down from the dais, his surprise that they were reaching him so
quickly was evident. It was time that he became involved, as
apparently his clan could not be depended upon defending him
completely. With the powers of drinking life blood for centuries
strong within him, he extended his hand, feeling the power extend in
invisible waves from his fingers towards the brown haired slayer,
extracting her own power into him.

Faith, mid-blow, felt her arms weaken, a blanket of fogginess
overcoming her mind. Her legs no longer seemed to have the strength
to support her, and it crossed her mind that she might have been bit.
Was this what the end was like? She couldn't seem to get enough air
into her lungs and her eyes wanted to close so badly. She was so
tired, she really couldn't keep going any longer.

Buffy's body was following her leg round as she completed a powerful
spinning kick, when she noticed Faith collapsing to the ground,
revealing a vampire, ages old by the lines on his face, hand extended
towards her. He laughed, throwing his head back, seeming to revel in
the power of the slayer that was flowing through him. Faith's head
hit the concrete floor with a hard bang, and all movement.

"Faith! No!" Buffy heard herself calling out the words as her legs
powered her forward, crossing the distance in less than a second,
throwing herself forwards, briefly passing through the stream of
power entering the outstretched hand in front of her before she made
full contact with the body. It toppled, bringing her with him, a
sickening crunch as her elbow connected with the floor, even as her
other hand was gripping harder on the stake, making a connection with
the chest of the vampire with even more force that she normally used.

His scream was loud, but he did not disintegrate. Buffy, laying next
to him as his fangs distended even further, staked him repeatedly in
a frenzy of blows, until with one final howl of defeat, his body
exploded. She tried to stand, knowing she was vulnerable and exposed,
her arm hanging limply by her side. Looking around, remaining
vampires were each engaged in a fight. Sobbing, she sank to the
floor, holding her arm, feeling where the broken bone had torn
through muscle and skin, the blood dripping in a pool by her feet.
She felt weak and sick as she crawled across the floor towards Faith,
each movement making her feel more and more light-headed.

It seemed to take forever to cross the small distance that separated
them, but when she got there, Buffy could hear Faith groaning in
pain. Relief washed through her as she realised that she was not
dead. Not yet at least. Buffy reached forwards with her good arm and
shook Faith's shoulder firmly.

"Faith? Faith? Wake up. Please wake up."

"Errm, oozat?"

"It's me. It's Buffy."

"Uff?"

"Yeah. Try to sit up."

"Can't. Hit by truck. Thin' I'm dead. You dea' too Buff?"

"I'm not dead and neither are you. Come on sit up. You weren't hit by
a truck."

"Wanna sleep..."

"Faith!" Buffy screamed. "Sit up! You need to stay awake." She was
dimly aware of the others arriving at her side, Angel taking her arm
in his hands and creating a makeshift sling from his shirt. She
watched as Cordelia lifted Faith's head into her lap and shook her
gently, stroking her face and softly telling her to stay awake. As
Angel finished wrapping her arm, the adrenaline left her body and the
pain kicked in with full force; as she sank into the darkness, she
dimly heard Angel saying something about hospital. Then there was
nothing.

*****

Faith woke up staring at the ceiling of her bedroom. Her head was
throbbing, but at least she could move her legs. She had a vague
recollection of thinking that she was dead. Which she obviously
wasn't. She got out of bed shakily, realising she was naked and idly
wondering who had undressed her. Feeling too weak to hunt for clothes,
she fished a robe of the hook behind the door. It was something that
she never usually wore, hence the fact it wasn't lying on the floor
somewhere. She noticed that the clothes she had been wearing before
had been folded neatly over a chair, her boots regimentally placed
underneath. So Fred had been the one to undress her. She shrugged to
herself. Better than Wesley. He would have been so clumsy he probably
would have done more harm than good.

All she needed now was a coffee and a cigarette. She made her way
slowly down the stairs, not caring less if there were any clients in
the reception. Hell, chicks walking around in bathrobes in the middle
of the day would probably be good for business, not bad. As she
walked she could feel the strength returning to her muscles, and it
felt good. She hated to feel weak, she hated to feel vulnerable. As
she reached the bottom of the stairs, she was relieved to see
everyone there, and her bravado of earlier left her when she realised
she wished she had put on something that covered her legs a little
more.

"Faith, you're up." Angel leapt to his feet and bounded over to
her. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. What the hell happened to me back there? We won, right?"

"Yes, we won. You had a little mojo pulled on you, but you should be
ok. It's Buffy you should thank. She was the one that saved your
life." He stood back, and Faith saw Buffy sitting on the couch, her
arm in a sling.

"I guess that makes us even now Faith," was all Buffy said as she
made her way out of the room.

*****

It was over. They had fought together and won, but Faith knew that it
might be the last time that she ever saw Buffy again. After all, they
were a little too old to invite each other for sleepovers, thought
Faith wryly. Not that she could recall ever being invited to a
sleepover. All night parties, sure, but not that cosy girl-bonding
thing. Now Buffy had no reason to delay her departure back to
Sunnydale, just as she had no reason to return in the near future.
She had noticed Buffy withdrawing from her last night, refusing her
offer of help packing her bags, not going out on patrol with her, not
even wanting to go out for a victory drink at Caritas. Instead, she
had hardly said two words to Faith, packing her bag in silence, the
same frosty air about her as when she had turned up in LA out of the
blue a few weeks ago.

Faith had tried to strike up the same kind of conversation that had
happened between them over the course of the last week, but Buffy was
unresponsive. Faith became increasingly frustrated and eventually
left the room biting back the tears. Under the pretence of going out
on patrol, she walked out into the chill night air and finally let
the tears flow freely down her face. She hastily wiped them on the
sleeve of her jacket as she walked aimlessly, heading somewhere
downtown, away from the lights and the people, where no one asked any
questions or looked at your face.

Somehow she ended up in Caritas, though it certainly hadn't been her
intention to find herself among familiar faces. Sighing, she decided
that she might as well have a beer since she was here. She sat down
and nodded at the barman, knowing that he would bring her usual over
to the table. Shrugging out of her jacket, she leaned back in her
chair and sparked up a cigarette, realising ruefully that it was only
her third of the day. She inhaled deeply and then blew a steady
stream of smoke at the table lamp in front of her, feeling the
nicotine kick into her system.

"Feels good huh?" Lorne's voice accompanied the land that she felt on
her shoulder, and she nodded without looking up at him. "Oh, I sense
some conflicted energies here sweetheart. Wanna talk about it?"

"Nope."

"Doesn't matter, your aura is telling me all I need to hear baby, and
let's just say its *not* music to my ears."

"Lorne," she sighed, putting her hand up to her face and rubbing her
eyes as if they hurt. "What am I going to do?"

"About what?"

"About the way I feel."

"I wish I could make all the pain go away, really I wish I could. But
that's something only you could make better. I can tell you what I
know though."

"Hit me."

"Well, I think you know that telling her how you feel will only make
her head of back to Sunnydale faster. I know you think that you are
running out of time, but believe me, you're not. She knows how you
feel, but she's not ready to face it yet. Whenever I see Buffy, the
amount of conflict I see in her always blows me away. She feels like
there is still so much she has left to do, but never gets round to
doing it, because her life could end tomorrow and she knows it. And
it scares her. The only thing that has ever been permanent in her
life is Sunnydale, and killing things there. It is the only life she
knows. Let's face it, it's the only death she knows as well," he
concluded with tasteless wink. Still, it made Faith chuckle a little.

"So tell me Mr. Insight. How long is this going to keep hurting me
for?"

"Now that, I can't tell you. But I can tell you something that might
cheer you up a little. Your destiny is bound with hers. Even now, so
it's not just for this latest crusade the two of you have been on.
This is not the last time that you will see Buffy, I promise. You'll
see that she needs you as much as you need her. Does that help?"

"I guess. A little." Faith sighed again and lit another cigarette
from the butt of the last one.

"Keep your chin up little soldier. Put on a brave face for her when
she leaves tomorrow. It's the only thing that you can do."

"Thanks Lorne."

"No problem, it's what I do."

"No, not for that. For not making me sing first."

So here she stood, watching Buffy leave the Hyperion for Sunnydale.

"Thanks for your help Buffy." Angel handed her the bag that she had
packed the night before. With Cirus defeated, she felt there was no
reason for her to stop in LA any longer. She was looking forward to
be back in her own in room in her own bed, seeing Xander and Anya
again. She was determined about one thing she was going to do when
she got back though, her trip to LA had made certain of that. She was
going to call Dawn and talk to her properly. She knew Dawn had a busy
life, and her own slaying duties made for very unsociable hours, but
the two of them no longer talked as much as they used to. Or as much
as they should. Buffy was aware now that Dawn was another piece of
her life that was quietly slipping away in the background. She did
not want her to be another thing that she didn't realise she had lost
until it was too late.

There had been a time when Dawn had been everything to her, her
reason to live and her reason to die. Buffy had been suffering one
loss after the other for so many years now, to the point where the
names and the faces sometimes seemed to merge in her head. Slowly,
ever since Willow had been gone, she realised that she had been
raising her defences again, determined not to let anyone in or
anything out. Tara had become her closest confidant, because there
was no way that she could lie to her. Even Xander sometimes failed to
see through her defences, but Tara had an uncanny knack of knowing.
She could somehow just feel what was happening inside Buffy's head.
Tara had been telling her for some time that she ought to spend more
time with Dawn, and she thought that she had been sincerely trying to
find the time. But now she realised that she had found all sorts of
excuses not to go out of her way to visit.

Now was not the time to analyse it too deeply, but she was determined
to do some soul searching when he got home.

"I'll see you all again soon." She said it out of politeness more
than anything. Her trips to LA had always been few and far between.
She smiled at Angel and then pulled him into a tight embrace, wincing
a little as he made contact with her bad arm. It was healing rapidly,
but she could still feel a slight twinge.

"You take care Buffy."

"I will." She turned away and hugged Cordelia, Anne, Gunn and Wesley.
Brief, polite hugs. She was pulling away from them all to stop
herself from getting hurt for reasons she could not understand. She
noticed that Faith was hanging back, not sure after all this time
whether or not she would be included in the displays of affection.
Buffy felt a little guilty. She knew that since the fight, she had
been withdrawing from Faith, and even though she knew that she
shouldn't, this was the one person more so than the others that she
felt she needed to escape from. She just couldn't shake the feeling
that Faith could still get to her in some way, and she knew that she
wasn't ready to have her defences broken by an ex-psychotic just yet.
She looked around and realised that everyone was waiting to see what
she would do next. Swallowing at a lump that had suddenly appeared in
her throat, she moved to where Faith was standing, her hands clasped
tightly in front of her. "Look after yourself Faith." She put her
arms around the brunette in an awkward embrace, shocked to feel as if
something was melting within her when it was returned. Faith's hands
on her back were strong and somehow reassuring. Buffy looked up, and
saw that look in Faith's eyes again. Swallowing hard, she pulled
away, and Faith nodded, either unable to speak, or feeling that she
did not have to say the words. Buffy noticed that her eyes were
glistening with threatening tears, and nodded in return. She put her
bag in the truck and climbed in the car without another word. As she
headed for the bus station, she had to wonder how the past few weeks
had changed her, possibly for ever.